The Web of A Spider
by BlueShadow4
Summary: Updated summary. Set after TASM2. Life is almost back to normal for Peter after last month. He's passing tests, starting a relationship with Lucy, and has a peaceful time as Spiderman. But what will happen when The Devil himself presents a deal Peter can't say no to? What will be the consequences? Who will be hurt? Pls leave reviews new & old readers-tell me what you think & follow
1. Chapter 1-Pt 1 Prologue:Embers

**The Web of A Spider**

**Chapter 1- Part 1 Prologue: Embers**

New York. The city that never sleeps. Meaning that their hero couldn't either. Despite the deep black night, the yellow lights from building blocks and electrical signposts lit up the streets, allowing his patriotic red-and-blue blur to be reflected as he swung past the windows. The mode of transport was now so natural to him, he needn't even think before shooting his webbing up towards the rooftops, knowing his heightened senses would guide him. And if not, he would run along the side of walls at increasingly fast speeds, catapulting off when appropriate. Bearing the spider emblem, he made the city his jungle, which he kept safe from harm.

"SPIDEY!" Particularly in the night, his bright spandex costume with his white, bug-eyed eyes were clearly visible to the pedestrians below.

Peter Parker always though that Spiderman should connect with the city, even if a friendly "HELLO NEW YORK!" was all that was needed before disappearing from view. _These are the moments that it is worth being Spiderman for_ Peter thought to himself. _The wind surging past, the people kept safe, just swinging by to New York City._

With that, he felt a pounding sensation in his head. _Spidey senses_. He turned his head to his right to see the burning embers of what used to be the top floors of a large hotel complex. He could clearly hear the fire engines' sirens, despite his height. Immediately, he turned his body, firing a well-aimed web at the top corner of a building, allowing him to agilely swing towards the incident. His immense strength and the use of his webbing took him to the scene in seconds. He carefully landed on the roof of a fire engine, crouched down to talk to the fire brigade. "Thing look like they're heating up here." Despite the death-defying situation, he still managed to smirk beneath his mask.

"Spiderman!" The fire officer was obviously tired, but relieved to see the hero. "We've got everyone out but one woman. We don't know where she is. Think you can go inside and find her?" He started using a water hose at a pile of flames with the aid of his teammates.

"Well, might as well- my schedule's all open anyway." With that, he jumped up, aimed a string of web at the top of the window and swiftly pulled himself up, before reaching one of the windows on the same level as that in flames. He slammed into it, causing shards of glass to collapse onto the floor. Spiderman, on the other hand, landed once again in a crouched position, ready to jump up again. And so he began his search. The crackling of the burning of the building was only interrupted by the often calling by Spiderman. "Hello?! Ma'am?!" Now and again he would fire his webbing at concentrated spots, reducing the flames. After three minutes, he heard a faint whisper in the distance.

"Hello?"

He proceeded to follow his ears to the lady, often dodging the collapsing floor above. When he found her, he was taken aback to find she was just a teenager- very much like him. She was also trapped under debris, but for Spiderman this was no hassle. "So _that's_ where you were hiding." With that, he fired strings of webbing multiple times at the pile, before using his sheer strength to pull the debris off her. "I guess it should be my turn to Hide and your turn to Seek." Peter always knows that his witty remarks, despite their cheesiness, cheers people up in desperate situations like these, and so however dire the situation he attempted to make them. However, before he could whip up another one, his Spidey senses went off once again. He quickly turned his head to see the broken gas line. At most he thought I have around 3 seconds. He then turned back to the girl. "You ready?" But before waiting for an answer, he attached his webbing to a singular brick, and swing it at the nearby window, which then shattered. Almost immediately, he grabbed the girl and jumped out. The girl clutched onto Spiderman, screaming as they descended. She was facing upwards, allowing her to see the explosion that, if it weren't for Spiderman, would've engulfed her. Spiderman, on the other hand, saw only the distance between them and the curb. Just before they made contact with the concrete, he fired two strings of webbing at a rooftop, which he then used to catapult himself into the air. They landed just next to an ambulance, which took the girl away to the hospital. Before she could thank Spiderman, he took off, leaving only a red-and-blue blob in the distance to talk to.

Elsewhere, plans were being drawn.

At the top of the Oscorp skyscraper sat Harry Osbourne- right now, anyway. You never know when his Goblin side takes over. He wore a slim business suit, and sat on a desk chair staring out to the metropolis skyline. His desk worked electronically, and was covered full of digital copies of pictures. Most of them either were of Spiderman or Peter Parker, but a few were of someone else. A woman both Peter and his age. The same woman that Spiderman just saved. Opposite the desk was a tall figure, wearing a purplely-pink mechanical suit, with a long purple cape and a white semi-spherical shape for the head.

Without turning around, Harry addressed this figure. "What was it I wanted from you?"

The figure replied uneasily, almost afraid of him. "To bring in the girl."

He suddenly swivelled round, the anger of The Goblin surfacing. "And so you set the building _on fire_?! Not only could you've killed her, but worse- Spiderman's _met_ her now."

"I was jus-"

"Forget explaining yourself, Mysterio. I'll set some of my..._team_ onto both Spiderman and the girl. And if you fail me again," he slowly rose out of his seat, "I'll let The Goblin out to play." With that, the mysterious man released a burst of purple gas into the room, disappearing from Harry's sight almost immediately. He was now alone to ponder on what to do next to the man he hated the most. _I think it's time to go back to school._


	2. Chapter 2: A Familiar Face

**Chapter 2: A Familiar Face**

"PETER!" Aunt May's screams were always heard and never questioned, but Peter was far too tired to really pay attention. During the night, he'd saved 32 civilians, stopped 10 crimes, and prevented two bus loads of people colliding with one another, all before 8am. "PETER, GET UP! YOU SAID YOU'D HELP ME!"

Peter replied in a quiet moan, but she could still hear him clearly. "Aunt May, it's Sunday. Sunday's the day of peace and rest and God and-"

"NOOOOO, YOU SAID YOUD HELP ME WHEN THE NEW NEIGHBOURS MOVE IN NEXT DOOR. YOU SAID YOU'D GO WITH ME AND INTRODUCE OURSELVES."

"Relax, they're not moving in for another two weeks." He suddenly had a terrible thought. "You're not preparing two weeks in advance, are you?!

"NO. APPARENTLY THEY WERE STAYING IN THAT BUILDING ON THE NEWS, THE HOTEL THAT BURNT DOWN LAST NIGHT. LONG STORY SHORT, THEY'RE MOVING IN TODAY."

Begrudgingly, Peter slowly sleepwalked his way towards the door, when he looked down at his hand.

_I didn't get changed last night. Damn._ He then opened the closet door to his right with the pull of a web string, before he slowly pulled his costume off piece by piece, whining when he came across a bruise. Once he had changed into a hoodie, tight jeans and sneakers, he bundled his costume in a pile, shoved it on top of a cardboard box in the cupboard, and closed the door.

Downstairs, Aunt May had made breakfast- pancakes, Peter's favourite- and was baking cupcakes in the oven. Her age had shown itself over the last few years, particularly since she lost Uncle Ben, but she still smiled whenever she did anything. Very much like Peter, she was resilient. Still looking inside the oven, she heard the creak of his footsteps climbing down the stairs. "Finally. Took you long enough." She then turned her gaze to Peter. "So many times lately, you've been late up. I'll never know why."

"Don't worry 'bout me, Aunt May, worry 'bout those cupcakes you're about to burn." With that she quickly turned and switched off the oven, before putting her pink cotton gloves on. She then quickly pulled out the golden cakes on the baking tray, placing them on the counter. She then turned back to Peter, who was silently yawning.

"I know what you're trying to do, Pete." Her nephew could tell she was slightly annoyed. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt _this once_ and trust you know what your doing." She then paused for a few seconds, allowing Peter to take a large chunk of pancake. "Now, Pete, when do you think I should give them these?"

He looked up to talk to her, thinking carefully about the answer. "Well, since it's Sunday... 12o'clock's when _most_ people _normally_ wake up." He started to smirk slightly at his remark, but he didn't impress his aunt.

"You think you're _soooo_ funny." She sarcastically replied.

"I am 'soooo funny'."

Two hours passed quickly. Peter spent that time in his room, completing projects for college whilst listening in to his police radio in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, Aunt May did what she normally did- the washing and the ironing, as well as decorating the cupcakes. "PETER! YOU READY TO COME DOWN AND VISIT THE NEW NEIGHBOURS YET?"

"Yeah, sure." With that he dashed his way down the stairs, two at a time, reaching the front door faster than his aunt, who was only a few steps away. It was a fairly cold day, so the pair quickly made their way to the front door of the house next to them, ringing the doorbell once they got there. After a few seconds, a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair opened the door. She was dressed to go to work, with a deep purple shirt and a grey skirt, even though she was only just moving in.

"Hello there. We live just next door, and we just wanted to welcome you to the neighbourhood." She then lifted the cupcake tray up, albeit slightly awkwardly. "I made you these, 'cause I didn't know if you had anything ready or anything."

She was so relieved at the sight of the cupcakes, Peter almost thought that she would jump up and down. "These are _great_! Thank you so much! We needed something to eat like this, considering what happened." She then raised her hand to shake Aunt May's. "Suzanne. Suzanne Falcon."

Aunt May grabbed her hand and shook it. "May. May Parker" She then pointed to Peter, who stood just behind her. "This is my nephew, Peter."

"Hello." He inputted, adding a small friendly wave at the end of the sentence.

"Nice to meet you." She replied just as kind and friendly. "I actually have a daughter your age, so it's good to know there's a friend just next door if she needs it."

"You can count on me."

Suddenly a voice shouted down from upstairs. "Who is it, Mum?!"

Another younger voice shouted down next. "Is it Spiderman?"

Suzanne tilted her head towards the stairs, shouting back so her children could hear. "It's just the neighbours, guys! Come on down and say hello!"

At this time, a young boy- about the age of 6 to 7- ran down the stairs, stopping when he reached the floor. Almost moaning, he looked down at his shoes and said to himself "It's not Spiderman."

Suzanne turned to the pair to speak. "Sorry, he's a bit obsessed with Spiderman. Course, it doesn't help that his older sister was pulled out of a burning building last night by him."

"What's he called?" Peter, naturally, took interest in the boy.

"That's Oliver." There was another pair of footsteps climbing down the stairs slowly, causing Peter's gaze to fall off Oliver and onto the girl. "And this... Is Lucy."

Lucy was a tall girl, with long dark brown hair like her mother's. Her chocolate brown eyes glistened in the light, making them stand out. Her bright red lips were the next things to stand out, along with the freckles dotted evenly round her face. Her smile was the friendliest Peter had seen since... Gwen's. She wore a white short-sleeved top with torn jeans and pink converses. He didn't even notice the scratches on her face. To Peter, she was still... _Snap out of it, Peter._

"Hi." she waved awkwardly, yet was still as friendly, fully aware of Peter's staring.

"Hello dear." Aunt May intervened, knowing that if she didn't there'd be an awkward conversation ahead. "I heard about that Spiderman pulling you out of the hotel. That makes you very lucky."

"Yeah,"she replied, "and I haven't even started college either."

Suzanne smiled proudly. "She's really gifted in science"

May was happily surprised at this comment. "So's Peter here! I guess you two have more in common than you think." Peter just blushed slightly in the background, keeping quiet.

"Do you go to Midtown College then, Peter?"

"Yep."

"So will Lucy! She starts tomorrow, and she could really use a guide round the complex, if you wanted to-"

Before she could continue, Lucy nudged Suzanne with her elbow, telling her to keep quiet.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Peter'll help out."

Peter began to speak, but was only in the background, and so could not get a word in."Wha-"

"Now, we'd better be moving on."

"Bu-"

"I guess Pete'll see Lucy tomorrow, and I'll see you, Suzanne, when I see you. Bye." With that, having made her move, Aunt May dragged Peter out of the door.

Once this happened, both Suzanne and May said the exact same thing to their children.

"He's nice, isn't he Lucy?"

"She's nice, isn't she Peter?"

But Peter knew deep down, no matter how hard Aunt May tried, no one would replace Gwen. Although the universe was trying very hard to change that.


	3. Chapter 3: Day One of College

**Chapter 3: Day One of College**

She didn't want the day to start like this. On top of all the first-day jitters of the day, thanks to her mum, she now had to meet up with a guy that, whenever she sees him, she blushes. _Typical_. She wouldn't normally admit she had a crush on someone, but... There was something different about it this time. For instance, she was very conscious of what she'd decided to wear that day-she thought that the blue top with a grey sweater and tight jeans was too little. But it was what she normally wears, not excluding the fact that most of he clothes had burnt.

As she made her way downstairs, she could sell her favourite breakfast on the counter- pancakes. Unfortunately, the weren't for her. As she noticed this, her toast from the toaster popped up. "Here you go, Lucy." Suzanne grabbed the two sliced and passed them to her. "These are for you, but if you want t go in on time, you need to leave now, hon."

"OK then." Lucy replied. Sh then crooked her head to talk to her younger brother. "Bye, Ollie."

"Bye bye Lucy." he replied ever so sweetly.

"Bye Mum." She gave Suzanne a kiss on the cheek before waking out the door, pulling off a large chunk of toast wit her mouth. She would wait for Peter, but is she did she'd be late. Also she quickly ran down the sidewalk, hoping her fist day went OK.

She he about five minutes until lessons started, and so she decided to see if she could find any new friends from the people hanging around outside the school. She could feel her heart pounding whenever anyone gave her a second glance, fearing their judgement of her, but she made sure to keep her cool on the outside. Right now she couldn't see any possible way of making friends.

"Hey!"

Lucy turned around swiftly, smiling when she saw Peter's kind face. He wore almost the exact same clothes as yesterday, albeit a different colour top and hoodie. She almost didn't notice he was riding his skateboard, for she was too busy trying her hardest not to blush.

"Quick Lucy jump ou-"

Too late. He crashed into her, the collision causing both to land faced upwards on the floor and his skateboard to veer off towards a group of people crowded round a bench. Peter scrambled up immediately, stuttering as he went. "I'm just so sorry- Are you okay- I haven-"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." She interrupted, thinking to herself just how much of a sweet idiot he was. Peter reached his arm out to help her up, which she took gracefully, concentrating more on trying to not turn as red as a beetroot. "How'd you get here so fast? I didn't see you pass at all."

The quick thinker that he is, Peter pointed at his now-stationary skateboard. "That board there has made sure I'm _never_ late for _anything_. _Guranteed_." He then paused, trying to find a way to change the subject. "So then... You need someone to show you around? 'Cause not only am I free, but my Aunt'll beat me otherwise."

Lucy giggled at this remark. "I know how you feel- my mum'll kill me if I didn't accept."

Peter smiled back. "So you have an control-freak of a parent too?"

"Don't we all?"

With this, they started strolling around, Peter pointing at certain buildings now and again, whilst Lucy listened intentivly.

On the rooftops of the college building, a faily old man rested near the edge, peering through a pair of binoculars at the two teenagers, unnoticed by anyone, like... A Vulture

Lucy, over the course of the day, found out that Peter and her were identical. Same favourite food, films, music, school subject. They both even liked photography. She'd found the perfect friend. And as a bonus, he lives right next door. So when he offered to keep her company at lunch, she couldn't help but say 'yes'. Peter, too, was having a good day- he didn't have to think about being Spiderman continuously. He had something- or rather someone- to think about. After the night Gwen died, he didn't really socialise too much, so it was nice to have a new friend.

Unfortunately for Lucy, most of the students still gave her a second glance as she walked to the cafeteria, but some had started to be friendly to her throughout the day. Peter even introduced one of his friends- Mary Jane- to her. To Lucy, Mary Jane was exactly what she wanted to be to impress people.

Peter, mainly.

As she took the last few steps to the door, another girl from the background spoke up with a friendly tone. "You know that you won't end up going out with Parker, don't you?!"

Lucy turned around to find a fairly small girl with her hair in pigtails and thick glasses placed in front of her eyes. She clasped her textbooks as she spoke. "What makes you say that?" Lucy asked back, showing her curiosity.

The girl replied with a hushed tone. "Around 10 months ago now, he had this girlfriend called Gwen Stacy. They'd been going out for two years. They were...inseparable. But then, during that whole thing with Electro and Harry Osbourne, she...died. Since then, he's been distant from most people. You've probably talked to him more than most."

Shocked, all she could do for a few seconds was stand with a dropped jaw and widened eyes. "Wow. I didn't even know." She then snapped out of her daze. "Hold on. What makes you think I want to... You know..."

"I've been watching the way you look at him. I know the signs."

With a slight giggle, she replied "Shut up." Lucy then paused for a second, staring out of the door's window To where Peter was sat- _how could he possibly be able to hide losing the person he loved?_

"She wasn't the first." The girl continued to speak, despite Lucy's stares. "His parents left him on his aunt and uncle's doorstep when he was six. His uncle was shot dead two years ago." She then paused to let this sink in for Lucy. "You need to be careful around him. You'll never know if your next." With that she walked away, leaving Lucy to ponder on what she had said. Right now, all she felt like doing was running up to him and hugging him-squeezing him tight to let him know he doesn't have to feel alone. But she knew that it would be really awkward, seeming that they'd only known each other for 26 hours. So instead, she walked in like no words were spoken.

Once Peter saw her, he gave a small and friendly wave, before indicating to sit next to him. H'd chosen a seat right next to the window, for he knew the crowds of 'cool people' would gather in the middle like a mob. Lucy quickly avoided the gang and made her way to the window.

"Hey there, guide." she joked, not really knowing what to say now she knew so much. "So tell me, is this place's food any good?"

"Not really." he replied. "Mind you, it's better than my aunt's meat loaf."

"I'll have to be the judge of that."

"Fine by me, as long as you have my portion too."

Lucy hesitated asking this next question: "Are you...asking me over?"

"Ummm..." But before he could reply, he started to feel a instant throbbing in his head- _Spidey Sense! _Peter quickly looked out of the window to see a small bird in the distance...getting closer...and bigger. Once he got a clearer picture, he turned to Lucy. "Duck. Now."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

And so she did- milliseconds before it burst through the window, shards of glass firing at the students. Instantly all the people ran outside, knowing that if they didn't they'd be dead. Peter, on the other hand, slowly stood up, taking a good long look at the thing that just broke in. What he didn't expect was a man, let alone one of his age. He wore a dark green mechanical suit, and was equipped with two pistols and a pair of dark-green metal wings that shone in the light. The man himself had a few noticeable wrinkles around his face, and substituted a pair of pilot's goggles for his missing hair. He spoke with the voice of an old, crooked man. "Hello there, children."

Peter quickly turned towards where Lucy had just started to rise up. "Lucy, you have to get out of here! Run, now!" Without hesitation she did, sprinting towards the front entrance. Once she had disappeared, Peter quickly jumped into a nearby cupboard, shutting the door behind him.

The man was confused- if he were trying to hide, why was he making such a racket in there? "Don't you want to come out and play, _boy_?"

With that, the door swung open, and instantly a ball of webbing sent the man aback, his wings the only thing keeping him from the floor. A second after, Peter jumped out of the closet, sticking onto the ceiling, donning the red and blue suit of Spiderman. Whilst the winged villain regained his senses, Spiderman fired a web string onto the ceiling, using it to slide down. "I would've thought an old man like yourself wouldn't play many games." He then noticed the white logo on the right wing: Oscorp. "Enough of the jokes, though. Who are you?"

"You can call me... The Vulture."


	4. Chapter 4: Tag Team

**Chapter 4: Tag Team**

Instantly, like a expert cowboy, The Vulture pulled out his twin pistols out of his holsters, firing directly where Spiderman stood. In response, the superhero in spandex backflipped his way out of the firing range, landing in a crouched position, before firing two web strings at the guns and pulling them away from him. However, before he could stick them to the floor with some webbing, Vulture flapped his wings ferociously, causing a huge gust to start projecting the chairs and tables Spiderman's direction. Again, Spiderman did a backflip, this time placing the weight on his hands onto the nearby table. However, to The Vulture's surprise, Spiderman didn't let go of the table. Using his ability to stick onto any surface, he lifted the table up whilst sticking onto the wall, using it as a shield against the storm. Once The Vulture had given up this tactic, Spidey saw an opportunity- he quickly used a piece of webbing to pull himself up onto the ceiling, before swiftly crawling up to where The Vulture was. Dazed, all The Vulture could do was try to land a hard punch as Spiderman jumped down to attack. Despite missing, it did knock Peter off guard, causing him to miss his target too, and land crouched on the floor. This time he took no chances, quickly firing two web strings at The Vulture's back, catapulting himself upwards to land on his wings. Soon, Spiderman was causing The Vulture to lose balance in the air, as with every punch and kick and web firing he zoomed from one direction to the next. "Getting tired yet, Grandad?" Spidey joked. Little did he know that The Vulture had regained his posture-and was now ready to strike. He instantly started accelerating backwards towards the wall, hoping to poetically squash the spider. Sensing this, Peter quickly jumped off, landing on one of the few tables that remained upright. This meant that The Vulture crashed straight into the wall, causing it to crack slightly. "Sorry to say, but it'll take someone with better eyesight than yours to hit me." He genuinely felt pleased with his puns-even though they were terrible.

"Don't worry, arachnid. I think my next weapon will prove most effective in _eradicating_ you." Before Spidey could question him further, his spider senses detected something, and he could hear the low growl of an animal. Peter slowly turned round to see a reptilian man full of anger, right claw in the air ready to strike.

"Connors?"

Lucy had managed to escape the building just as the police arrived. However, from the look on their faces, she could tell that they had no clue as to how to respond, or to fight, such a creature. _Shouldn't Spiderman be here, making sure that the creature was defeated._ Then she suddenly had a thought. _How'll Pete escape? My God... I ran out of there, and left him- my only friend- with that creature._ Having realised what she'd done, Lucy dashed back inside, hoping that her friend was still inside. As she ran through the corridors, her voice shouting "Peter!" echoed.

Peter remembers The Lizard's swing as something of sheer power- something he didn't want to be dealing with right now. A quick roll on the floor to the left was enough to dodge Connor's attack. As he stood upright again, he fired bullets of webbing at The Vulture's wings, forcing them to stick onto the wall. "Hey, I don't want you flying off there." Unfortunately, his joke-making didn't alert him to the Lizard's tail that came crashing onto Spiderman's side. Peter was propelled straight into one of the pillars, severely damaging it in the impact. Quick to recover, he narrowly dodged another swipe with a web string propelling him onto the wall. Just as another collision was to happen, a faint noise in the distance distracted all three superpowered fighters.

"Peter!"

Instantly The Vulture's face lifted up, as a green flash lit up on the wrist of his metal suit. Spiderman also noticed the flashing light, this time on some sort of collar on The Lizard's neck. He also recognised the voice as Lucy's. "Lizard! That's the girl! Find her!"

Like a sniffer dog being released into the wild, The Lizard ran towards the doors on all fours, leaving claw marks on the floor. But before he could reach them, Spiderman swung from the floor, turning 180 degrees as he kicked the doors open. He then swung out of view towards Lucy to get her out of there.

Lucy was still running across the corridors, so much so that she didn't really know where she was anymore. All she knew was that she had to find Peter. "Peter! Where are you?!"

Suddenly, she could hear a quiet voice in the distance. "Shh." She stopped in her tracks, afraid of what could be around the corner. She started breathing heavily, even though she tried to keep silent. "I said 'Shhh'. As in 'keep quiet'." Suddenly, none other than Spiderman swung into a block of lockers, sticking onto them as a landing tactic. "Now run!" Before she could, a large Lizard-like creature crashed into the space Spiderman was, the web crawler himself only escaping by jumping onto the floor. Once she saw this, Lucy ran round a corner...

To a dead end. She had nowhere to go.

Meanwhile, Spidey had dodged multiple swipes from the Lizard, before crawling onto the walls to avoid other attacks. Unfortunately, the Lizard still had his tail, which he used as a battering ram on the wall. Only his spider senses prevented him from being squashed, as he used his webbing to catapult himself onto the ceiling. He couldn't help but recall the time two years ago when they'd fought in the halls of Midtown Science High School, back when Spiderman had just started out. _Snap out of it._ Peter took an opportunity, seeing that the Lizard had left his tail near the wall. He fired a bombardment of webbing at the long green tail, momentarily halting the reptilian man. Only momentarily, however- he managed to rip his way out, chasing the web crawler as he jumped off the ceiling and started to dash away, shooting webs at Connors as he went. Once he went round the corner, he saw just the predicament Lucy was in. His brain went into overdrive. _Think, Peter, think. Backed to a wall in a school corridor by The Lizard, with a schoolgirl they are hunting. Think. What would you do? No, what did you do? Two years ago?_ He then looked at the corridor in detail. _That's it! The window!_ He quickly dashed towards the window, keeping Lucy behind him as the Lizard charged towards them. Before he could reach them though, he fired two well-aimed loads of spiderwebs at he reptile's arms, attaching them to the walls and impeding his charge. "Connors! Talk to me! This isn't you!" But before he could continue, the Lizard started to rip his way out of the bonding. Sensing this, Spiderman, as Lucy saw it, went nuts with his webs- he crawled, crouched and jumped all around the Lizard, slowly creating a web cocoon to keep him at bay. Once he was happy that he couldn't move, Peter jumped to Lucy's side, remembering the last time he'd done this with Gwen. "Now, Lucy, listen to me-"

"How do you know m-"

"I'm gonna throw you out this window. Ready?"

"Wait, wh-Arghhhhhhh!"


	5. Chapter 5: Dark Happenings

**Chapter 5: Dark Happenings**

"Arghhhh!" Lucy felt as if she was going to die for a second, before realising Spiderman had attached a web string onto her. She halted her fall between the second and first floor of the building, holding on to the string attached to the windowsill. As this happened, the Lizard broke free of the cocoon of webs, snarling at every slash. Angered, the reptile swung his tail at Spiderman viciously, to which Spiderman retaliated- jumping up, he fired two web strings at his chest, propelling a powerful kick into him. The Lizard stumbled back, slightly dazed. Peter took this chance to try and talk to Connors. "Connors, this isn't right!" Instead of listening, the Lizard swiped his claws in the hope of ending the web crawler's challenge against him. "Doc, if- uh- you could- uh- just- uhh- LISTEN- arghhh!" But Connors wasn't talking. Instead, Spidey had run out of room to avoid the Lizard's attacks, resulting in a large rip in both his spandex suit and his skin. Despite the agony, Peter knew he had to try to get to Connors, try to make him see sense. The Lizard goes for one final swipe. Spiderman jumped higher than before, missing his claws by an inch, and landing on the reptile's shoulders. But before he could rest, the Lizard's swing caused the webbing holding Lucy in the air to snap. As she started to scream again, Peter couldn't help but have a flashback of 10 months ago, when the Green Goblin... _That's not happening today._ Peter quickly jumped off the green shoulders, turning as he did to face the window. Praying that it would work, he fired a web string at the falling piece Lucy gripped onto. Her second descend abruptly halted just before her feet hit the ground, as Peter gripped onto both the rope with his hands, and the floor with his feet and web crawling abilities. Once he saw the Lizard was ready to ponce onto him, Spiderman allowed his feet to relax, and let gravity pull him out of the window, using Lucy as an anchor. Lucy landed immediately, staying still in shock as Spiderman appeared out of the window, landing next to her in a crouched position. "You should run right about now, Lucy!"

Struggling to deal with how her first day of college was going, all she could say was "How do you know my name? And where's Peter?" But before he could come up with a clever lie, a loud snarl made its way outside from the window. Immediately Lucy started to run towards the ring of police, while Spiderman propelled himself onto a nearby lamppost with his webs. By now a huge crowd had formed around the perimeters that had been set up, all of them whispering to one another. But Spiderman, with his heightened senses, could hear them.

"It's Spiderman."

"What on Earth's that snarl?"

Who's that girl?"

Suddenly, the Lizard jumped out of the window, creating cracks in the brickwork of the wall as he did, his landing creating a crater on the concrete ground. The whispering became more tense.

"The Lizard?!"

"Dr Connor's supposed to be in prison."

Spiderman knew what he had to do- the collar around his neck was somehow controlling him, making him a savage rather than the scientist he is supposed to be. Seeing he had an opportunity to strike whilst the Lizard regained his posture, Peter jumped off the cold metal pole onto the floor, and fired his webs around the reptile's limbs, sticking them to the floor, preventing him from moving. Angered, the Lizard released an almighty roar. "You know, you've not got the best breath Connors." With that, he fired a web shot at his mouth, silencing him. With one final effort, he fired a web string attaching to his collar, and continuously pulled at it. "Come on, collar. Give in." With that, Peter pulled harder, causing the piece of technology to shatter. Once it did, the Lizard let out a roar of pain. His right arm started to dry up and break into flakes which flew in the slight breeze. His shoulders and face started to decrease in size, and also began to lose its green shading to that of a normal human being. His blond hair and ears started to grow back. He started to lose his supernatural muscles and tail, as the Lizard slowly faded away into Doctor Curt Conners. Once the conversion was complete, Connors' unconscious body slumped slightly. Spiderman rushed over to him, releasing the webs that held the scientist in place. Connors started to open his eyes slowly.

"Where...where am I? Peter?" he asked weakly.

Jokingly, the web crawler replied back in a hushed voice "Well, right now I'm Spiderman." He then turned more serious. "Do you remember anything at all?"

"The last thing I remember," he replied, "was being in my prison cell." He then looked around to see the ring of police, all with their guns pointing at him. "I guess I did something bad."

"Someone _used_ you. I'll set that straight with them. And I think I know who..."

Harry was still at his desk, staring onto New York City. _It's so peaceful _he thought. _So tranquil. So...annoying._ The phone on his desk started to blare out, filling the silent room. He quickly answered it. "_Yes_?" All that was to be heard was a muttering on the other side of the phone call. Instantly Harry's face fell. "I guess we have no choice. Shoot them." He then slammed the phone down.

"Mr Osbourne? You wanted to see me?"

Harry looked up to see a fairly short woman in her twenties, with jet black hair. She wore a black dress with black heels, as if she were attending a funeral. "Felicia." He chuckled slightly, revealing a hint of insanity. "I need your help, or rather you... _skills_..."

Connors was now standing upright and talking to a group of policemen, explaining his side of the story. The spectators started to leave the scene. All except Lucy, who ran up towards the web crawler. "Listen, _you_, answer me! Is my friend OK?"

"Who, that _guy_?" Spiderman replied, trying to keep the Peter part of his life separate from the Spiderman part. "I took him home. He'll be fine." Lucy sighed with relief, but Peter knew that he'd have to be at home when she was. Bummer. He wanted to immediately start investigating Oscorp. Since that new girl, Felicia Hardy, became CEO, Peter thought that the company had stopped their evil doings. _I guess I was wrong._

BANG!

Spiderman looked around like a confused dog- that sounded like a gun being fired. But where did it come from? And who was the victim? He turned to check Connors, only to find his body slouching on a policeman's, a hole pierced where his heart was. Dead. Even Spiderman was shocked, stating completely still for a moment. Connors was dead.

BANG!

This time Spidey was alert. The shot came from inside the college building. The Vulture! He quickly fired his web strings at the window, entering the building and racing across the corridors. He arrived at the cafeteria to find The Vulture's body, still strung up where Spiderman had left him, this time with a bullet in his stomach.

**Thank you all for all the views, reviews, favourites and follows! It means a lot to me ㈴2**


	6. Chapter 6: Who Is Spiderman?

**Chapter 6: Who is Spiderman?**

Lucy had had enough of today, what with giant lizards and Spiderman and shootings. The police had to close down the college as it was now a murder scene, with no foreseeable time when we could go back. The crowds had regathered when Lucy left, as did a tonne of news reporters. Spiderman, once he went to find the second victim- supposedly that winged guy people speculated about- he had taken off to investigate. This left Lucy, walking home, wondering if life could get any more complicated. She walked past Peter's place, catching a glimpse of him in his bedroom window. His right arm moved up and down, as if he were sewing, and his shirt was off, which meant that she could see all of his arm muscles. _On second thoughts, life could get much more complicated than today_ she thought, staring at the window. Finally she found the strength to lose her gaze at Peter's torso and walk to her front door. _I wonder what Peter's doing up there._

Spiderman's suit was almost fully patched up from his fight with the Lizard. However, he still had to stitch up the massive slash on his chest. Peter didn't speak. He didn't even whisper. He just thought to himself. _Why would Oscorp, now reformed, recreate the Lizard and create a winged suit like that? And furthermore, why did they come to the school? For Lucy? But why?_ It didn't make any sense to Peter- all he could do was wait for any more supervillans, and attempt to investigate Oscorp. Of course, that'll be harder now that he has no one on the inside. Peter paused his sewing, turning to his desk, where a picture of himself and Gwen rested in a wooden frame. _It's so much harder now that you're not here to help me._

2am. Peter mumbled in his sleep, as he sweated in the heat of his dreams. He was only dreaming of one thing. The same one thing he's been dreaming for 10 months- the night Gwen died. Startled, he quickly rose from his slumber in a panic, the word "GWEN!" echoing the room.

Now that the school was closed, Lucy and her family could explore New York. She couldn't wait to go- she had never really lived in a big city like this, and so it was certainly a new experience. Wearing a beautiful white summer dress, she had knocked on Peter's door just before they were about to leave, so that she could invite him. But unfortunately Aunt May answered the door, saying that Peter left at something like 6am. When Lucy asked why, Aunt May just shrugged. _Bummer_. _I guess it's just us then._ When we all got to Times Square- which for some reason was under intensive construction- Oliver saw a store selling all sorts of Spiderman products. Dragging mum with him, Lucy bargained to go off on her own. And so she walked. However interesting the noise and the chaos was, she couldn't help but yearn somewhat for some silence. This led her to a quiet church on the outskirts of the town. The whole area was surrounded by bright green grass. She started wondering across the graves, glancing at each one. It was the perfect place for the dead to rest- very peaceful and respectable.

And then she saw him.

Within the labyrinth of grey gravestones his red-and-blue costume was noticeable a mile off. _Spiderman? What are you doing here?_ She looked closer to see. He was knelt down in front of a particular grave. _Is it someone he knew?_ She made her way closer, crouching to avoid being seen. She could hear his whispers, and could just about make them out.

"Was all we went through- the Lizard, Electro, the Green Goblin- for _nothing_? Did Oscorp learn _anything_? If you were here you'd have something really clever to say in response." He took a sigh, holding back tears. "Anyway, how's heaven? Or is it called something else where you are?" He didn't get a response, nor did he think he would get one. Saying the words, however, at least made sure she could hear him. "Have you found any friendly faces yet? What about your Dad?" He let out a little chuckle at that remark, remembering the first time they met. They fought during dinner whether Spiderman was good or bad. Keeping back the tears forming in his eyes, he painfully asked the next question. "Have you found my peeps yet? They'll keep you safe." Distant sirens caught Spiderman's attention, almost as an alarm clock telling him his time was up. "I love you." With that, he quickly fired a web string at a lamppost, swinging into the distance. Once he was far away, Lucy emerged from behind a gravestone. _Who was he talking to? _She ran up to the grave, not anticipating the name on the plaque:

**Gwendolyn Stacy**

**1995-2014**

**Taken from us too late**

**You will forever be loved**

_GWEN STACY?! The girl that used to be Peter's girlfriend?! Why's Spiderman talking to her? Why did he say he loved her? I need to find out. I need to understand this whole situation regarding Peter and Gwen and Spiderman. And I only know one way of getting his attention..._

That afternoon, she made her way back to the city. She found herself an alleyway that had a fire escape leading straight up to the roof. _Perfect_. She slowly and cautiously made her way to the roof, and stood near the edge. And waited.

And waited.

Half an hour passed, the silence of the rooftop only interrupted by the busy traffic of New York. And then he appeared. The web crawler swung past cars and trucks on the road, before being propelled up to the walls of different buildings. Lucy walked her way to the very edge, took a deep breath, and jumped.

Spiderman's spider senses kicked in, allowing him to predict what would happen immediately. He used his webs to pull himself closer and closer, whilst positioning himself in the air so that he could catch her. And catch her he did. "Gotcha!" Lucy still felt like she was falling for a moment, but then felt the sudden change in direction as Spiderman swung up to a different rooftop. Her dark hair flew in all directions as the wind made her shiver. The view she had momentarily of the streets was, to her, awe-inspiring. Spiderman landed on a rooftop to an apartment block, after gently letting Lucy go. "There we go. You OK? Hold on a minute... Lucy?"

Before he could continue, Lucy turned angrily, confronting the web crawler. "Right, 'Spiderboy', explain exactly the whole detail with you and Gwen Stacy, 'cause otherwise I'll tell her boyfriend!"

High up the Oscorp skyscraper, Harry sat at his desk, reading the electronic file on the Vulture and the Lizard, before deleting them from the computer. _The Oscorp way_ he thought, over and over again in his head. As he did, a small alarm blared in the room, as red lights flashed. He checked the electronic sign on his desk. It read 'Property Stolen: Secret Projects" Harry slammed his fist down, cracking the glass desk in anger. "Why is it always the _scientists_ that rebel?!"

At this time, having heard the sirens, Felicia walked in, wearing a black body suit, almost as if ready for a robbery. "Anything you can't handle on your own, _Goblin_?"

"No," he replied calmly, "it's all right. It's just _Octavius_."


	7. Chapter 7: Interrogations

**Chapter 7: Interrogation**

"Blimey, you can shout!" the web crawler replied, jokingly placing his hands on his ears.

Unimpressed, she continued. "Do I look like I'm joking?!"

Seeing her anger, he jumped to a defensive position- the edge of the building- before replying. "Why do you want to know?"

"'Cause I've got a friend who deserves to know, and if you're not going to tell him, then I might as well."

After thinking long and hard, he came up with an idea. "I tell you what. An answer for an answer. You ask a question, I'll ask a question. Good idea?"

"Why do _you_ want to know about _me_?"

"Well, first I save you from a burning building, then I save you from two supervillans, it's a bit suspicious. What do you say?"

After a while, she finally nodded her head in agreement. "OK. Me first. Why were you at Gwen Stacy's grave?"

Avoiding the subject, he cheekily replied "To pay my respects." He was careful not to dob Peter Parker as Spiderman. "Me next. Why do you think these events are happening to you? From your point of view? I mean, do you _know_ any reason anyone would want to harm you?"

"No. I don't think so, anyway. OK then. Next round. What is your connection to her?" Before Spiderman could reply, she interrupted "And don't try to lie, I heard you at the cemetery. You said you loved her."

Peter hesitated at this. "I... She was the only person on the planet to know who was under the mask. The relationship we once had...got complicated." Lucy was very unimpressed at this answer, but she let it go. For now- she only had to answer his next question. "Have you had anything to do with Oscorp? Anything at all, no matter how small?"

"Not that I know of. I swear, I'm just an ordinary girl." She grinned. "So where does Peter stand in this?"

Playing the part, he asked "Who's Peter?"

Lucy could tell he was deliberately hiding his secrets, which she didn't mind- unlike her brother, she wasn't excited that Spiderman was standing in front of her. She wasn't a fangirl of him. "Peter Parker was her boyfriend when she died."

"I'm sorry, I didn't really keep contact from then, what with being Spiderman and all. So tell me, what's the most significant thing that happened to you?"

At this, she paused for thought, as well as hesitation. "I guess there's two things. The first, that I was adopted, and the second-"

"You're adopted?!" he asked, shocked

"Yeah." Peter noted this down- if she didn't know who her parents were, maybe even she doesn't know about any connections with Oscorp or supervillans. "Anyway, the second's probably my first crush."

"OK. Your turn."

"Who are you? I mean, behind the mask?"

Cheekily, he replied "I'll give you a clue- I'm a man. Now, who's this crush? I need to know so that I can find out if _he's_ connected to anything."

She really didn't want to say- no, admit, who her crush was. But since she had already told him she had one... "It's the same guy, Peter. Right now we're friends, but..." Peter was very taken aback by this. _She has a crush on me?!_ Peter's cheeks became as bright as his red mask, as he stared at the girl. _What am I gonna do?_ Knowing that he couldn't ponder on it now, and also that he couldn't talk about it to anyone, he left it as something to leave for later- a list that seemed to get larger and larger.

"Thanks for the info." Another band of sirens appeared from the distance- police cars all travelling past. "I need to go now. Duty calls."

Just as he was,about to jump, Lucy stopped him. "Wait! Spiderman...don't tell anyone about this discussion."

"Only if _you_ don't." With that, he smiled, before jumping off the building, using his web strings to guide him past the cars and buildings towards the police chase. He had left Lucy with a dilemma- _What am I supposed to do now? Do I tell Peter? Does he already know? _She then thought for a moment. _Why did he sound so...familiar? So friendly?_

On the other side of the city, a short, stumpy man wearing a long brown coat and a large hat stood at the top of a building, his face covered in shadows. To the side of him approached the same man from before- the man with the purple suit, the man who started the fire. "Why did you run, Otto?"

Almost laughing, Otto replied without turning. "Do you not know what Oscorp has planned?" The bulging head did not reply, indicating he didn't. "Whatever you do, 'Mysterio', stay away from anything to do with Oscorp. Run underground. Stay hidden. Do anything to stay alive. I have a plan, one that not even he could work out?"

"What's the plan?"

"I've been contacted by... an old friend..."

At Oscorp, Harry had had the remains of his desk taken away, leaving him to stand, staring out to New York. "If Otto's out there..." He turned towards his company- a European man in his late-40's with a long black beard and a costume constructed from the fur of a tiger. "Never mind him, he can't cause much more damage. We need to advance the plan. Once Black Cat has taken the necessary crystal to power the machine, we can begin. Meanwhile... Prepare the eels. We need to recreate Electro."

Peter, for the first time in a long time, managed to have a solid night's sleep. He was too worried for the future, and too tired from the recent past. Plus, he was still digesting that Lucy liked him like that. He woke up that next morning to the sound of the doorbell ringing. Aunt May took the evening shift at the hospital, leaving him alone at home. Half asleep, he made his way to the door, not knowing what to expect. He opened the doors to see Lucy, fully awake and dressed in a pink dress, her black hair flowing slightly in the breeze. It was a complete opposite to what Peter looked like- dressed in his crinkled pyjamas, his eyes only widened when he saw who it was ringing the doorbell, his hair completely messed up. "Morning, handsome." she joked.

Peter didn't really know what to do with himself, now that he knew she had feelings for him. "Hey." he nervously replied. "What's up?"

"Well, since you woke up early yesterday, you weren't here when I came to invite you with us as a guide to New York. I was wondering if you could take me- I mean, us- today, but since you're not-"

Panicking inside, he replied. "No no, it's okay, just give me a minute to change and stuff." He then gave his friendly smile she last saw before the showdown at the cafeteria.

Just as he turned round, Lucy called back. "Oh, by the way... I'm glad you're OK. After Monday." With that, she walked back to her house. Peter, for the first time in ages, was... somewhat happy. _A day where there's no Spiderman or Oscorp or villains? It'll be great. And, as a bonus, I'll spend it with a friend. Is she a friend? It's complicated. Anyway, peaceful day, here we come._

Little did he know it wouldn't be peaceful.


	8. Chapter 8: Promised Made

**Chapter 8: Promise Made**

Peter had almost gotten fully dressed by now. Being the optimist, he hoped that he wouldn't have to put on the mask during the time he had with the Falcons, but he decided to bring his costume with him. _Hope for the best, expect the worse._ That was always what Uncle Ben would say to him when Peter didn't pack a ruler or a calculator for school.

He didn't know why he was in such a hurry to get ready- _maybe, after every time of having to quickly take off and put on your clothes it becomes natural he thought. Or maybe..._ Right now, he didn't want to think of the alternative. He couldn't talk about her having feelings for him at all today, as otherwise she'd find out his alter ego. Plus, there's Gwen. _Would she want me to be moving on so soon? Should I anyway? Would that be disrespecting her?_ He sighed tiredly. _Why is it my life that's so complicated?_

He made his way out the door, making sure to lock it behind him. He wore his classical look- an unzipped grey hoodie with a bright blue shirt underneath and tight jeans. As he knocked on the door, he could hear the faint shouting of Oliver, Lucy's younger brother. "I'M NOT GOING OUT UNTIL I'VE SEEN SPIDERMAN!" At this point, Lucy opened the door with a sweet smile, trying to ignore the wining upstairs. "Hey Pete. Sorry 'bout the shouting, it's Oliver."

"Yeah no no, I heard. Is there anything I could do to help?"

"No it's fine. Mum's up there now, so he'll calm down soon."

Suddenly, Peter had an idea of how to help. "Hey, can I use you bathroom quickly?"

"Yeah sure." She then turned and pointed upstairs. "If you go into the first room you see on your left when you're upstairs, you'll find it."

"Thanks." With that, Peter climbed the stairs, chuckling inside. _Oliver wants to meet Spiderman? OK._

Once Peter had locked the door, he started taking off his clothes, leaving only his Spiderman costume on. He then put on the mask to conceal his smile, before jumping out of the slam window.

To the right of the bathroom was Oliver's room. The blue walls had a bunch of Spiderman posters on them, while his toy draws were at least half Spiderman figurines. Oliver's costume was hung up on his cupboard. Oliver himself was sitting on his bed, miserable. His mother, Suzanne, sat next to him, trying to persuade him to go downstairs. The costume was how it started. Oliver wanted to go outside with the costume on instead of 'normal clothes'- that is, kakki shorts and a blue top. But he had worn it all the time whilst they were in New York, and it needed washing. From their things escalated to 'How come my sister gets to meet Spiderman twice and I don't'. His mother, on the other hand, was stumped. _How do you explain this to an 6-year old that Spiderman only meets a few people? Hell, how does Spiderman work anyway? I can't just come up with a clever lie- it won't be clever._ Just when all hope seemed lost for her, she heard it. And so did Oliver.

KNOCK KNOCK

They both turned to see, to both their eyes, a miracle- in spandex. Spiderman was hanging upside down by a spider thread right outside their window. They could hear his muffled speech. "Hello Oliver. Can I come in?"

"IT'S SPIDERMAN!" The child ran to the window, pushing it open as fast as he could. He then stood back so that Spiderman could jump in his room. Once he did, the web crawler knelt down to the child's height.

"Let me tell you something, Oliver. I was swinging past skyscrapers and dodging cars, when all of a sudden, I heard a screaming. And do you know what the person said?"

Excitedly, Oliver replied "What?"

Chuckling, he joked "He said 'I'm not going anywhere until I've met Spiderman'. Do you happen to know who said that?" Oliver raised his hand, telling the superhero the answer. "No way! That was you?! Well, we can't have you not meeting me, can we? I tell you what, if Mummy says you can under supervision of course, if you ever need to see me, at night, scream for me. And, if I'm not too busy saving people and catching crooks, I'll try to make it. Promise?" With that, Spiderman raised his right red hand so that Oliver could shake it.

Which he did. "Deal. Can I do it sometimes, mum?"

After giving it much thought, she nodded. "OK. And... Thank you, Spiderman. First for saving my daughter twice, then for this."

"I'm just being a friendly neighbour." He then smiled friendly underneath his mask. He then stood up, talking to Oliver now. "Now then, you should go out and see the rest of New York. Go to The Statue of Liberty- it's a brilliant day out, and there's hardly ever any crimes that take place there. And if there are any problems over there, I promise I'll sort them out" With that, he jumped out of the window, swinging away into the distance- that is, the bathroom next door. Peter then quickly put on his clothes, hiding his mask and gloves, before flushing the toilet to make it seem like he was there all this time.

Oliver races downstairs, hugging his sister quickly. "WE SAW SPIDERMAN!"

"What?!" She couldn't believe it. _Why did he come here? To find out more about me? _"He came here mum?"

"I can't actually believe that he stopped to talk to him." Suzanne was almost speechless from then on.

At this time, Peter strolled down the stairs. "Hey Oliver, Ms Falcons." He then lied, pretending like he knew nothing about what just happened. "Did I just miss something?"

"WE SAW SPIDERMAN!"

"Really?!" To follow the act, he continued to slightly over exaggerate . "_Man_, I could've gotten some more pictures of him!" The rest of the family just laughed, eventually causing Peter to join in. "OK then, guys, where to?"

Immediately, Oliver replied "The Statue of Liberty!"

"Any objections to The Statue of Liberty, ladies?" None of them said anything. "Right then, to The Statue of Liberty it is."

For the rest of the day, Peter almost forgot that he was Spiderman. For the first time in a long time, he was having fun with other people. He got to learn a bit more about the Falcons. Originally they were from Minnesota, but then they had to move. When Peter asked why, all that Suzanne said was "Family trouble." Peter used his 'amazing deductive skills' to interpret that as 'divorced'. He was careful not to talk too much about Lucy's past, not only so that her feelings weren't hurt, but so that she didn't figure out he was Spiderman. Lucy didn't mention it either, mainly because she wanted to seem...normal. They reached The Statue of Liberty at around 10:30, and went inside during the hours when it was quiet. Peter was having a good time- and not just because he learnt a few things. Because of Lucy. One half of him wanted to stay away to avoid her getting hurt or worse, but the other half...

By about 11am they had finished the tour of the Statue, and were now eating at a quiet cafe on the island. They were all having fun, enjoying themselves. Just as they were about to finish their drinks, Oliver saw a small shop with Spiderman merchandise, and dragged Peter towards them, feeling bad he didn't get any pictures of him. This left Lucy and Suzanne alone to talk. With motherly wisdom, she asked "You like him, don't you?"

"Mom!" Her cheeks went bright red as she scanned to see if Peter was around, so much so that her freckles started to almost disappear. "Not right now, OK?!"

"_Come on_, just tell me yes or no."

After a few seconds of checking to see if anyone was there, she mumbled "Yes."

"_Pardon?_" Suzanne smiled cheekily as she asked.

"YES!"

Almost laughing, she replied "_Finally!_ She admits to it!"

"How do you even know?"

"Please, you never wear summer dresses, let alone during autumn." A few seconds of utter silence past. "You know he likes you too?"

"MOM!-"

ARRRGHHHHHH!

Both women turned to where the scream came from- the same shop Oliver and Peter were in- and now there was a man with metal tentacles inside too. "Hello, people of New York!" the man shouted, his voice full of anger. "I need a volunteer for me to throw of the Statue of Liberty. Anyone interested?" As the crowd ran away, he continued. "No one? Fine, I'll just use _this_ person then!" He then held up one of his mechanical arms, revealing his grip on Oliver's shirt.


	9. Chapter 9: The Rise of Octavius

**Chapter 9: The Rise of Octavius**

His sleek mechanical limbs created craters on the famous monument as he climbed up rapidly, dragging Oliver up with him. The crowds of tourists watched in horror, occasionally dodging the pieces of green metal that tumbled down the body of The Statue of Liberty. Suzanne was crying out, knowing that the odds of him escaping death were slim. Lucy was trying to be supportive, but couldn't help but hope that Peter was safe. It didn't take the man long to reach the very top of the flame, as he dangled the child in the air for show. Despite the short time window, a news helicopter had already reached the incident. No one could get a clear picture of the mysterious man, for he wore a big hat and sunglasses, as well as a long coat like that of an inspector. "People of New York! Consider this to be a lesson! No one messes with men!"

Oliver, with tremendous bravery, asked the man "Who are you?"

Proudly, he responded "I'm Otto Octavius, otherwise known as... Doctor Octopus!" With that, he let go of the kid's shirt, causing Oliver to tumble...

And tumble...

And tumble...

Suddenly, a red hand grabbed Oliver's torso, before firing a web string upwards to slow down his descend. Oliver opened his eyes and looked up. "SPIDERMAN!"

The crowd below- including the two girls- cheered at the top of their voices, whilst Spiderman landed safely on the ground. "Sorry 'bout the destination choice. Didn't know I'd make a new friend today." He then took off to challenge the doctor. When the girls found him, Suzanne checked his entire body for injuries- which she found none of. "It's a miracle."

Lucy interrupted the happy times, desperate for answers. "Ollie, do you remember where Peter was?" All the child could do was shake his head.

Meanwhile, Spiderman propelled his way up the statue's torso using his webs, before climbing up her face. Once he was at the forehead, he paused. "Soooo... What's up Doc?"

Otto turned to the web crawler, smiling. "Spiderman. I've been waiting for this day."

"Any particular reasons, or are you just a fangirl?"

At this remark, he swung one of his mechanical arms at the hero. But Peter's spider senses predicted this, allowing him to jump up towards the statue's crown and perch. He then fired his webbing onto where the robotic claw had hit, stopping one arm from attacking. _One down, three to go_ he thought.

"My..._employer_ wants your head."

"Let me guess- Harry Osbourne."

Doctor Octopus laughed out loud at this. "_Harry?_ I wouldn't work with him for a _trillion dollars_! You don't know what experiments he's performing. It's...inhuman." Spiderman grew more and more intrigued. "My employer is someone with far greater powers. Someone who, if his plan succeeds, will rule the world. With me at his side- my intellect- there will be no limit as to what we could achieve."

"Just putting this out there, is your friend an _imaginary one?_"

Now in a rage, Doctor Octopus leaped from the fire, hoping to almost rugby-tackle Spiderman to the ground, which Spiderman jumped up and avoided. But before he could land, one of the claws grabbed his spandex, before slamming him repeatedly onto the top of the statue's head, creating craters shaped like humans. Before he could do it again, Spiderman sensed that the ceiling- or rather the head- was about to cave in due to the damages, and that the metal pipes would fall to. Sensing this, he fired a string of webbing around his stomach and his remaining 3 robotic arms, before attaching them onto the pipe as he was slammed down once more. With that, the whole head came crumbling down. Otto released Spiderman from his grip to keep balanced, but immediately Spiderman used all of his effort to pull him off using both the spiderwebs he had already attached to the framework and two more he had fired just then. It was a competition between nature and machinery. Thinking quickly, Spiderman used the two webs in his hand to propel him towards the stubby scientist, using the full force of the up thrust to push his knee straight into Otto's stomach and head. He lost his balance, causing all of the webbing to snap off, and for the 8-limbed villain to fall. Spiderman went to save him, first shooting webbing at the cracks that formed around the neck to avoid a national treasure being destroyed. Once he had done this and reached Octavius, they restarted the brawl. Both participants punched and kicked each other repeatedly, spiralling during their descend. At the last minute, Otto, lowered his 4 mechanical limbs, so that they took the brunt of the fall, whilst Spiderman cast a web string to prevent slamming onto the concrete. His mask had half disappeared, revealing parts of his chocolate brown hair, his brown eye on his right side and half of his mouth. Most of his face was red due to the many bruises he had acquired. So was Otto's. His sunglasses were cracked, he had lost his big hat covering his brown hair, and one of his front teeth had fallen out. Before Spiderman could continue, Otto calmly said "Objective complete: Target examined. Request immediate evacuation."

Surprised, Spiderman went to question him. But before he could, in an instant, a huge amount of purple gas surrounded the hero, causing him to lose sight of the scientist. He could sense he was getting away, but the gas played havoc with his abilities, preventing him from pinpointing where he was. Once it had faded away, New York City returned to view- without any sign of

Doctor Octopus. The only people there were himself, staring into the distance...

And Lucy. "Spiderman? Are you okay?"

He really didn't know what to do. _The moment I turn around she'll know who I am. That can't happen. Not now. Can I escape? I can't just swing into the city to escape- there aren't any buildings to swing on. I could always turn very quickly and swing up onto the top of the Statue, and then... Yes, that news helicopter. I'll then hitchhike a ride back to New York, and my identity'll not be-_

"Peter?" The web crawler looked down to see Oliver in front of him, looking directly at his face. He imagined that, if his Uncle Ben were God, that he'd have constructed that exact moment just for a laugh. He could then also see a nearby boat that was just leaving. _There's a boat! I'll get on that. But... Oliver knows who I am. Should I tell Lucy? I want to, but then she's on the frontline of danger, and she might tell people, or...or..._

And then, for the first time in 10 months, he told his head to shut up, and followed his gut instincts. He turned slowly around, revealing half his face to Lucy, who was in absolute shock. "Peter? _Oh. My. God._" But before anyone could say anything else, Peter sensed Suzanne walking around the corner, and so decided to web swing into one of the open toilet windows, allowing him to change quickly.

"Have you found Peter yet, Lucy?"

Dumbfounded, she replied "No. Not yet. I haven't tried the toilets yet. Excuse me a minute." She then slowly walked off, not before giving her brother a look to say 'don't tell anyone', still jaw-dropped. _Peter Parker is Spiderman? Spiderman is Peter Parker?_ She then realised something terrible. _Did I tell the guy I had a crush on I had a crush on him without knowing the guy I was telling was HIM? Life's not fair._


	10. Chapter 10: She Knows

**Chapter 10: She Knows**

She didn't exactly know what she would do when she found him. _The guy she liked. The guy who saved her twice in three days. The guy who thought of having Oliver meeting his idol. Peter Parker. Also known as Spiderman. My next door neighbour._

She had arrived at the toilets where Peter had jumped into. She approached the wooden door to the men's room, and started banging it with such vigour. "Peter! Peter! Let me talk to you! Please!" The door to the women's room started to open up, revealing... Peter.

"Sorry, I jumped into the wrong set of toilets. First time that's happened." He tried to keep the mood light, but he could tell Lucy wasn't impressed. "Soooo...you wanted to ta-"

"What the hell?!" Lucy just wanted to let her anger and confusion out, and unfortunately for him, Peter was the target. "What's this whole thing? Is it some kind of joke, or-"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...interrogating me and-"

"In fairness, _you_ wanted to interrogate _me_ first."

She couldn't say anything. She had no idea what to ask first. "Right. There's only one way of fixing this. You, me and Oliver, talk about this. Tonight. No buts."

"What's there to talk about?"

"I don't know," she replied in a hushed tone, "maybe 'cause of the fact that you're Spiderman!" She then had another thought. "But there's something we need to talk about now. Something I need to do now. Something to do with the other day, when you asked me all those questions about Oscorp and the attacks-"

"Well, be quick then, 'cause your family's waiting, and also I'll need to patch up my mask, and my face, an-"

Not even Peter's spider sense predicted that she would lean in and kiss him. Her red lips tasted of strawberries, and for a moment it was like all the recent troubles floated away. It was almost like he was normal. Once she stepped away, he was put back in the real world, now feeling as guilty as he was happy. "I-" But before he could say anything, she had walked out of the door. His face was as red as her lips were. He could still taste the strawberry in his mouth. Any normal person would be happy- someone who they like likes them back, enough so to kiss them. But Peter's not normal. He knew that he would have to decide quickly if he was going to move on from Gwen or not.

Outside, the police had started talking to the people at the scene, whilst barricading the press. Suzanne and Oliver were talking with Lucy when Peter found them. "Hey guys. I heard what happened with Oliver. Is he OK?"

Suzanne looked worriedly at Peter. "Yeah he's okay, but are _you_? What happened to your face?"

Lucy replied quickly before Peter could respond. "He was just telling me that a piece of rubble caught him, and he lost concussion. Right, Pete?"

Smiling, he nodded in agreement. "But it's fine, seriously."

"OK" she slowly let out, sensing they were hiding something. For now, considering what happened, she decided to leave it be. "We should probably make our way back home, guys. Peter, you joining us?"

He really would like to right now. He'd really like to talk it out with Lucy and Oliver quickly. But there was something he had to do first. "Actually, I have a couple of errands to do, but I'll be back as soon as possible. Do you all need me to guide you anywhere, or-"

"We'll be fine, Peter. Thank you for today, and sorry 'bout your...face." With that, she took off towards the boat harbour, dragging Oliver with her. Lucy took one last look at Peter, before following her mother. _If I'm to decide if it's time to move on or not, I'll need some help._

Peter had gotten on the boat ride after he Falcons, so that they didn't see where he went. He then found an empty alleyway, climbed up the building, and started to swing across the town. But this time, for some reason, Peter wasn't enjoying it as much. Instead, he was too busy having an internal conflict about Lucy and the feelings he'd started to have for her. _Is this even real? Do I actually have any reason for liking this girl? If I do, where do I start?_

After ten minutes of crawling on walls and swinging in the breeze, Peter made it to his destination- an old apartment block. But not just any apartment block... He walked past the doorman, contemplating how scary he looked compared to the last time he saw him around a year ago. Instead, he looked solemnly at the boy, as if to say he's sorry. Peter walked straight for the lift, pressing the button for the top floor as the doors slowly opened. The wait was almost excruciating, particularly when at every two floors someone stopped the lift asking 'are you going down'. Peter always hated that. A DING signalled that he was here- floor twenty, an age she'll never make now. He slowly walked down the dull grey corridor, staring intently at all the doors. _2012, 2013, 2014, 2015,... 2016. Here we go._ Cautiously, he knocked at the door, slightly afraid at what reaction she will have to him being here. He could hear the faint creaking of wooden floorboards as she made her way to the door. Her head peered out as the door gradually opened. The woman looked to be in her late-forties or fifties, with pale blond hair and more distinct wrinkles than he remembered. "Peter?"

"Hello Mrs Stacy."

Mrs Stacy- or Julie, as she pestered Peter to call her- poured out the tea she had made into two mugs- one for both of them. "So, how are the boys doing?"Peter asked, as she took a seat next to him on her grey couch.

"Good." she replied, despite a pause beforehand. "They're still getting used to what...happened, but life goes on for them, whether they like it or not." She could see that Peter had a dilemma on his hands, and that he was trying to hide it slightly. "So tell me it then."

"Tell you what?" he quizzed.

"What's troubling you? Something to do with Gwen, definitely, but what are the details?"

"How do you know there's a problem?"

She chuckled a bit. "You forget, my husband was one of New Yorks finest policemen. Some of the magic rubbed off."

Peter was a bit nervous- this would be the first time he'd admit he had feelings for someone since nearly three years ago. "Well...there's this girl-"

"_Ohhh_. Is that all?"

"Hold on. You can't just know what I-"

"_You_ have feelings for this girl, but you're afraid of pursuing it because you feel guilty about Gwen and moving on from her."

Peter was speechless that Mrs St-_Julie_-had worked out his problem so quickly. "How-"

"A woman's intuition, Pete." She then smiled friendly at him. "And a bit of experience."

"So what do I do?"

"Well, first of all, I've got to ask the obvious question: does _she_ like _you_?"

"I think so." Julie stared at him, knowing he was keeping something back. "Fine, I _know_ so. She kissed me."

"Looks like to me you've already chosen."

"I didn't kiss her though. At least, I didn't _start_ it."

"But did you _stop_ it?" He paused, before shaking his head. "See, you've already chosen what to do. Let me guess- you still remember what her lips tasted like too." He nodded again, almost embarrassed. "Listen, I know that you've been grieving for the best part of a year now, but if Gwen could speak to you right now, she'd probably tell you to man up and ask her out. She wouldn't mind. She'd known that you'd need to move on at some point. So Peter, what are you going to do?"

After a while, and a sip of his tea, Peter asked to go out to the balcony for a minute before he left. The same balcony that Peter first kissed Gwen on. The first time he told anyone he was Spiderman. Before anything went wrong. He looked down upon the street below, listening to the hubble and bubble of the civilians. He had made up his mind. He would take the leap, and move on.

Inside, Edward Stacy- Gwen's older brother and Julie's oldest son- had just got home from his daily job. To make some money, two years ago, now that his father was gone, he became a photographer for the Daily Bugle. Not only did it earn him some money, but it gave him a chance to one day meet his enemy, the man responsible for so much pain in his family- Spiderman. "Mom, I'm home!" No response. He decided to make his way to the balcony- his favourite place in the city. So quiet. So peaceful. He stopped at the doorway once he saw Peter there. He was shocked that he was standing on the edge. _Is he going to jump?_ He did. But then, to Edwards utter shock, he started to swing away. _WHAT?! Peter is Spiderman? The man responsible for his girlfriends death? It makes sense now- two years ago, when he tried so hard to defend Spiderman from Dad. He was defending himself. All this time, he's the one who killed them. _Edward felt a surge of pain and anger fill him. _And now he'll pay. _


	11. Chapter 11: The Birth of Venom

**Chapter 11: The Birth of Venom**

_I'll make him pay._ Edwards stormed out the house, ignoring his mother calling him from her bedroom. He couldn't think about her now, nor about his brothers, or even the world. All he could think about was what Spiderman- Peter Parker- had done. _He's torn my family up into pieces. The Stacy name, now a mockery. I'll kill him. I swear I'll kill him, if it's the last thing I do._ He suddenly remembered something as the lift reached the ground floor. _Peter's old friend... Harry Osbourne... The Green Goblin. All tied into one place- Oscorp. I'll need to get into Oscorp he thought, not paying any attention to the doorman's glares. But first I'll need an alias, to keep any Oscorp spies off the scent. I don't want any more of my family in a graveyard._ And so he stormed his way past the shoulders of many pedestrians, eventually reaching an uninteresting, grey, block building. Inside was a large waiting room with many chairs. Most of them were occupied, and queues had formed in the gaps between people's feet. He stood at the back of a long line, leading up to an old woman behind a desk and a plastic covering. A sign above her said 'Name Changing Queue Here".

After a half-hour wait, he was able to talk to the white-haired woman. "Hello."

"Hello." she replied sweetly.

"I want to change my name."

"What to, dear?"

He had to think for a second. It was like being given an entire sweet shop to eat-you wouldn't know where to start. After a few seconds, he remembered something his younger sister always used to tease him about: his old love for Pokemon. Keeping his sister at heart, he replied "Eddie Brock."

Octavius, enraged, entered Oscorp's automatic doors, shocking all of the workers present at the time. He ignored them-none of them were his target. His target was Secret Projects. His coat fell off as his mechanical arms expanded, revealing a dark green spandex suit. He aimed his arms at the ground in front of him, creating a giant chasm in the floor leading to the underground base of Harry Osbourne. He then jumped down. The lighting changed from the light orange glow of the sky to the dark yellow artificial light of the corridor he landed on with his robotic limbs. Once he regained his footing, he started storming through the corridors. He knew where he was going. He had been through them many a time. He went past all sorts of experiments. DNA extracts of scorpions and rats. New weapons designed for all sorts of situations. He knew where he was going- Harry's office.

He found a hexagonal room with pale green lighting, and an electronic desk in the middle. _I've made it. _But Harry wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Osbourne?! Where are you?! Show yourself!"

"Hahahahahahaahahahaha!"

Osbourne looked up to see Harry Osbourne glide down on his green glider, which if fully equipped with machine guns and bombs and all other manners of weaponry. He should know. He designed most of them. On the board was his old boss, armoured with the Oscorp battle armour, designed to increase strength, agility and stamina. Furthermore, it could heal injuries during battle. _This is gonna be tough_ he thought. "Harry? What have you done-"

"Harry is _dead_! He died the night I was born, the night The Green Goblin first rode in the night and the fire! He will never return! _Never_!"

"I know what you've been hiding down here. The experiments you've been doing! Revving Electro! Creating cross-species again! I even read the file on the girl-"

"How dare y-"

"IT'S NOT RIGHT, HARRY!"

"Harry is DEAD! And if you stand in my way, Octavius, you'll be too!" With that, Otto used one of his arms to try and slam Harry off his board. But he had none of it. Anticipating the attack, he quickly floated slightly backwards, before throwing one of his bombs at the scientist. Almost like a baseball, Octavius swatted it away. As it exploded in the background, Harry moved swiftly to the left side of the room, whilst throwing a firestorms of his custom-made bombs. The mechanical arms were only just enough to maintain Otto's safety.

Eddie made his way past all of the staff now evacuating the building, leaving just him and the chasm at the reception area. He could see glimpses of the experiments that were taking place, and could hear the faint explosions in the distance. _Are they weapons? Could they be used to destroy Peter?_ Eager for an answer, he jumped down. The impact hurt his legs, but he was still able to walk around. It was here he saw the truth about Oscorp. He saw scientists being injected with unknown chemicals, reacting almost immediately. Some silently screamed in pain. Some reactions were worse. He turned his head to see a scientist, sitting down on a wooden chair, with a glowing bright blue figure opposite him, also sitting down. _Is that... Electro?_ His stare was completely emotionless, as if he could see nothing that was taking place. He could see the scientist speak to the man, but couldn't hear due to the soundproofed glass. He turned to Electro to see him repeat them.

"Your name is Max Dillon." the hypnotist was an expert at changing people's memories- something he was well paid for at Oscorp. Most days he dealt with begrudged employees, but not an electric man.

Lifelessly, the unidentified man replied "My name is Max Dillon."

"You are also Electro."

"I am also Electro."

"You hate Spiderman. He thinks of you as unimportant. As weak. As nothing."

"I hate Spiderman. He thinks of me as unimportant. As weak. As nothing."

"You work for Mr Osbourne."

Subconsciously, the man who thought of himself as Max paused slightly. He then replied. "I work...for Mr Osbourne."

The hypnotist gave a satisfied look at his fellow scientist standing next to him. "He's ready. Send him back for one last voltage test before briefing him."

A large BOOM suddenly brought Eddie into the real world, having been staring at the test for so long in curiosity. _What were they doing? Isn't Electro dead, another victim of Spiderman?_ Another explosion scared him. Right now, he needed to try to find Harry. He decided to walk the opposite way from where the explosions came from- he didn't want to attract attention. Suddenly, he heard two voices approaching. _I need somewhere to hide._ He searched round, looking for a closet to hide in. Instead, he found an open door to another exit. Taking the opportunity, he quickly darted in, and closed the door just in time. Inside was not a corridor like he really thought- instead it was a fairly large circular room, with a small pedestal in the middle. On the centrepiece was a small capsule with a black substance inside. Eddie slowly made his way up to examine it, curious as to what it was. But he was too close. At the time, he was imagining all the pain Spiderman had caused, and imagined what he would do to Peter when he found him. Break his skull. Snap his neck, like Gwen's was. The substance...sensed this anger. The strong emotion in his soul. The glass capsule shattered into a million pieces, allowing the black being to completely envelope Eddie's body, slowly creating a symbiotic bond between them, using his anger and suffering as a pathway. He started collapsing to the floor, screaming in pain as he wriggled viciously, only calming down when the process was complete. Eddie was gone, leaving only the black shadow of what he was.

In his office, The Green Goblin saw an opportunity. Knowing his arms were focused on the bombs he fired at him, Osbourne fired his glider's machine gun towards him. Otto retaliated, wrapping his arms around to create a large metallic shield strong enough to reflect the bullet fire. Just before Harry could fire his missiles at the scientist's defence, he was interrupted. "STOP!" Instantly the room was filled with silence, as the two villains stared at the shadowy figure that stood before them.

Otto was the first to speak. "Mr Fiers-"

"Get out, Octavius. I need to speak with Harry here." Angered, he left slowly, giving a glance to Harry as he left, as if to say 'This isn't over'. Know he was out of view, Mr Fiers continued. "Harry, do not try to fight Octavius. He is currently aiding me with another project of mine. You focus on killing the Spider."

"If you know it all, Fiers, tell me this-who should I send in to hand me his head, then?"

"Well," he started, pretending to give it some thought, "I do not want you fighting just yet. Reload and recuperate. You've had a stressful few days since I broke you out. The plan is being accelerated somewhat. Electro is ready, and..." Both Harry and the gentlemen heard a faint scream in the distance, "I believe there's been a new resource developed in the _Venom department._"


	12. Chapter 12: Vengance

**Chapter 12: Vengeance**

Harry quickly flew his way into the Venom department, followed swiftly by Mr Fiers below him. They both found the source of the screaming- a black body laid on the floor, lifeless. Mr Fiers slowly crept up to the body, aware of what it may do when it wakes up. "Hello? Are you okay?"

By now he stood just above the man, staring down upon his blackened face. There was no sign of human life, which contradicted the screams from before.

"He's dead, Fiers. He didn't survive whatever process this is." Harry still stood on his glider, now hovering over the scene. "He is of little use to -"

"Be _patient_, Osbourne." With that, a white, bug-eyed shape slowly began to form where his eyes used to be. Once they had fully formed, a large mouth began to form underneath, with a long pink tongue and sharp, white teeth. Suddenly, with a loud snarl, the black being jumped onto his long muscular legs. He gave a long stare at Mr Fiers, then one at at The Green Goblin hovering above him. Fiers was intrigued. "Hello there. What is your name?"

After a short period of silence, a deep rasping growl came out of the mouth. As it did, a dollop of drool dropped onto the floor. "**Eddie...Brock...Venom...Oscorp...Parker."**

Harry cringed at the mention of his enemy. "How do _you_ know who _Peter_ is?!"

Surprisingly, he understood what he was saying. "**Saw...him. Want to KILL!**"

Even more interested, Fiers continued the conversation. "Why do you want to kill Peter Parker?"

"**Killed...Gwen.**"

_Perfect_ Fiers thought. _He completely thinks that Spiderman killed his girlfriend. I don't know why he's so effected by it, but it's lead his to become...something powerful. Something dangerous. Something...otherworldly. Just like the substance itself._ He vividly remembered the day he found the meteorite, seeing the black substance crawling along the brown ground. It was the moment that life outside our planet was first discovered. And it was kept a secret. For all this time by Norman Osbourne. But now it was awake, ready to face the world.

WHARH! WHARH!

The room suddenly bathed in red flashing lights, as a loud siren echoed across the hallways. An Oscorp scientist burst in. "Sir, there's been a breakout! It's Electro! We couldn't control him, he went into one of the computer systems, and now he could be anywhere." He suddenly turned to the new weapon of the two masterminds. "Who's..."

"I'm sorry, young man," Mr Fiers interrupted, "but even though you've done your job in alerting us to the situation, I cannot allow you to know of this being." He then turned to the creature. "I think it's time you tested your new abilities, Eddie Brock. Find him. Bring him back. But before you do, kill this one." He pointed at the now-afraid scientist. Both Fiers and Harry exited, ignoring the screams of pain. "Harry. Once the creature has left, trail him. I want a full assessment complete on him." With that, Harry quickly disappeared, still riding his glider, leaving a trail of heat from the engine as he went.

Peter, after his talk with Julie, made his way home and fixed his costume, all before 7pm. His room was a tip from the last dozen times he had resown his costume, with thread and spandex everywhere. He was lucky Aunt May didn't barge in now and again. By the time the night had fallen, he leaped out of his window and swung his way next door, towards a window with a warm yellow light shining out. There was no moon that night, leaving the streets darker than normal, but even then Spiderman's fully repaired suit stood out. He landed on the back wall of the house, crawling up to the room.

Inside, Lucy had just gotten changed into pyjamas-pale pink trousers with matching slippers and a white top that contrasted with her dark hair she let free to flow. Her room was around the size of her younger brother's, except the walls were pale blue, and there weren't any pictures or posters on the wall. She had a large desk with scientific worksheets and equations that she couldn't be bothered to do today. She stared in the mirror for a moment, not knowing exactly how she would approach the situation:_Should I talk about why he was interrogating me? Or why, apparently, someone's out to kill me? What about the fact that I kissed him? Should I make a big deal of that?_

KNOCK KNOCK

She quickly turned around, having been lost in thought. She was relieved to see the two big white big eyes looking at her, coupled with the red face. She darted towards the window, pulling it wide open so he could jump in. "Okay," he started, "I've turned up for the '20 Questions' special edition featuring me, Spiderman." He then smiled simultaneously with Lucy. "Sorry if I freaked you out somewhat, what with me being _Spiderman_, and then the _interrogation_ and-"

"_I_ should be saying sorry to you, Pete, what with...kissing you, and..."

"When he saw she started to lose the ability to form the words she wanted to say, he saw an opportunity. He slowly pulled off his mask, revealing his slightly scarred face. "Yeah, about that." He then leaned in, kissing her passionately. He could still taste the strawberry from before, but this time he could feel and hear her heavy breathing-a sign of nervousness. He put his arms around her as if to say 'It's alright'.

"Errugh."

They both quickly stopped and turned around to see Oliver, in Spiderman pyjamas, hugging a raggedy teddy bear, standing at the doorway staring at the two teenagers. Lucy was slightly annoyed that the moment ended. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I couldn't help it." he replied excitedly. "I could hear Spiderman in your room."

"I bet you don't hear that everyday." Peter joked.

"So, _you're_ Spiderman?" He now spoke in a hushed tone.

"Yep."

"And you're also my _next door neighbour?_"

"Yep."

"Never mind that," Lucy interrupted, "Peter, what did you mean about these 'attacks' against me?"

"I don't know, that's why I was asking you." He paused in thought, hoping for an idea to come to mind. "Wait a minute. You mentioned that you were adopted."

"Yeah. I don't know too much about my real parents, only that they died in a car crash when I was young, and that they-"

"-that they worked for Oscorp."

Slightly taken aback, she responded. "How...did you know that?"

"Oscorp... So far, everything evil-from The Lizard to Electro to The Vulture- has had something to do with them. And I'm sorry..." He didn't know how to tell her this right now. "Do you want me to tell you the probable truth as to what really happened to your parents?" But she had already figured it out, shown by the sudden hand enclosing her mouth as he spoke.

"Well, I'm going to bed. This is getting boring now." Oliver yawned a 'goodnight' before disappearing from view.

Once he had gone, Peter hugged her, giving off the same comfort as before, when they kissed. "Peter...during the day of college...one of the girls told me about...Gwen Stacy." Peter's face dropped to the ground. "I understand if-"

And then the lights turned off.

Lucy looked outside to see everyone's lights had gone out. "Is it a blackout?"

"I _hope_ it is. It most likely isn't."

As Peter responded, Lucy's small TV in her room began to turn on by itself, revealing a glowing blue face. It spoke with an electronic voice, but still carried the emotions of a human being. "Did you think you'd gotten rid of me so easily, _Spiderman_? Now, the whole world will lose the light. The whole planet will learn to live in the darkness. Like I have. And they will all see you for what you really are, Spiderman. A fraud. A villain. A spec of dust compared to me."

"Wait, is that-"

"And as for the rest of you, worship your God- _Electro_!"


	13. Chapter 13: Electro Lives Again

**Chapter 13: Electro Lives Again**

"I gotta go." Peter was confused and angered all at the same time. _How is Electro here? He died when me and Gwen 'overcharged' him... Oscorp's gotta have its hand in this somewhere._ "When I come back we'll talk about this more, yeah?" He made his way towards the open window, perching on the ledge to jump.

Before he did, Lucy stopped him. "Peter!"

He turned around quickly. "Yeah?"

She paused. She didn't exactly know why she had stopped him. _Please be alright when I see you next._ "Be safe." With that, Spiderman jumped out of the window, running along the side of the house before firing a web string at a nearby lamppost to swing on. Lucy watched as he swung from post to post amongst the now-still traffic.

Electro flew up to the mast of The Empire State Building, so that everyone could see him. "_Now_ the world will see me!" His electrified voice echoed through the streets, resulting in nearby civilians running for their lives. At this, he fired the first beams at them. Blue and orange electricity zoomed from his hands towards the ground like lightning, creating a small but deep crater on the road. He fired at anything- people, cars, buildings- just to show his power to the world, so that for once he would be respected for what he really is.

**RRAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH**

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large black body in the air tackled Electro, letting out an almighty battle cry while he did so. They both spiralled in the air, punching each other during the descent, leaving it to chance as to who lands on the ground first. It was the creature. Electro kept his hands grasped around the creature's neck, holding him down with his strength. Because of this, he could get a clear view of what he was fighting- It almost seemed like Spiderman, but more beastly. This accusation was further supported when he fired a black 'web'-that was actually goo-at Electro's mouth. Angered, he fired an electric bolt directly at the black chest, but for some reason it seemed to make little impact on him. _It must be insulated from electricity. What is this black substance?_ Before he could find a way to combat it, the creature used all of his strength to lift Electro off the floor and into the air. Firing a strip of goo onto his back, the blue figure was slammed into the ground. As Electro managed to get up onto a knelt position, the creature took long strides towards him. "Wha...What _are_ you?" he asked with great interest and confusion.

He snarled out a reply, drooling as he did. "**I...Am...Venom.**"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Electro was cocooned in a white web, preventing him from moving his limbs. As Venom looked up, Spiderman had used his swing as propulsion for a huge kick in the chest. The black creature lost his footing, flying straight into another lamppost, bending it in the impact. The red-and-blue superhero had landed in front of him. "_Now_, kids, don't fight. I need to talk to you both." He sniggered under his mask at that joke. When Electro started to wriggle and complain, Spiderman turned to him, placing his finger on his lips mockingly, and spoke. "Sparky, _shhhhh_." He then turned his attention to Venom. "Now then, who are you?"

"**Parker**." he replied. As he went for an attack, Spiderman fired two web shots at his wrists, sticking them onto the lamppost. Once he had finished struggling to break the connection, he began to snarl again. "**You killed my family's name. You took people away from me I love.**"

"No." Despite the situation, Peter made sure to keep calm, even though this person knew who he was under the mask. "I've never killed _anyone_."

"**Then why did Captain Stacy die? Why did Gwen Stacy fall? You are not a hero- you're like me. A man with powers he doesn't understand.**"

And then he sensed it- his heightened senses picked up the jolt of electricity headed straight for his back. _Electro must still be at full charge._ Spiderman dodged the blast by somersaulting in the air, causing Venom to take the full blow of the attack. The substance that enveloped him also insulated him, but that didn't stop the blast from knocking him into the shop window. And hurting, of course. Having just landed in a crouched position on the floor, Peter immediately jumped up again to dodge yet another blast, this time using a web string to pull himself towards the bonnet of a car. Frustrated, moving at the speed of light whilst hovering in the air, Electro dashed his way towards the car, before instantly releasing a surge of electricity at Spiderman. As the webslinger jumped up one more time, the engine exploded, releasing a fireball straight upwards, and scrap pieces towards two civilians. _I can't just let them be injured for my sake. I guess they'll be serving burnt spider tonight._ With that, before the fireball reached him, Spiderman fired two web strings at the civilians, pulling them away from the explosion. However, he did not have any time to save himself- he could feel parts of his suit and skin burn away as the fireball engulfed him.

Meanwhile, Electro started to laugh lightly. "How strong do you think I am _now_, Spider?"

Suddenly, a net of webbing enveloped the shining blue man, followed by a voice. "You know, you're acting really _cool_ about the whole thing." A web string then attached itself to the struggling Electro, before Spiderman, with cuts and burn marks on his suit, jumped backwards out of the flames, grasping the string. When he landed, he gave a long stare at the enemy, his unblinking bug eyes intimidating the opposition. "I think you need some _warming up!_" With that, he yanked the string, pulling Electro into the burning car. Luckily for him, he could just escape into one of the electrical appliances in a TV store just in time. Just as Spiderman began to wonder where he'd gone to, his head started to hurt. _Spider senses._ As he turned, he could see Venom showing his sharpened teeth as he charged towards the red-and-blue spandex-wearing superhero. Peter quickly used a quick-fired web string to start to pull himself up and away from the beastly villain, but Venom retaliated with his own string of goo onto his left foot, resulting in Spiderman being displayed in the air like some sort of statue. With every yank of Venom's string, the web crawler could hear his own snapping. _What can I do here in this sticky situation?_ Seeing an opportunity and having a brilliant plan, Spiderman activated a setting on his web shooters. He then fired it, producing dozens of strings attaching to the walls. Venom was still trying to pull the hero towards him, giving Peter a perfect opportunity. "Tell me who you are. How do _you_ know who I am?"

Venom, angrily, replied "**You will suffer for what you've done to my family!**"

_His family? He's a Stacy kid? I've got to get him out of that black suit. But how?_ Before he could continue, Spiderman sensed Electro's sudden appearance from one of the nearby buildings, flying straight towards him, his arm extended and his hand opened to strangle him. _Oh great- I'm stuck in the air with a flying electric man about to beat me to a pulp. Typical day at the office._ With that, he rapidly activated another setting on his web shooter, resulting in his gadget pulling him towards the wall, surpassing Venom's strength. Spiderman stuck onto the wall, watching Electro strangle thin air. As he went to turn in the air and fire onto the tired hero, he was covered in gooey string by Venom. "**You stay. Oscorp wants you alive.**"

_Oscorp. I should've known._ Suddenly, Venom leaped up at least 15 feet towards the sky, jumping straight towards Spiderman with a fist ready to punch on his left side. On his right, Electro had already broken free of the black webs, and had fired a bolt of electricity straight towards him. _How am I gonna escape this one?_

**Hey fans! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far- I've tried (and succeeded) to upload a chapter a day :)**

**A few things- first of all, please let there be more reviews. I know you all probably heard this time and time again, but it'll help me to know what you want/don't want, and also what's bad about my writing.**

**Also, unfortunately, I may not be able to write as much a day as I am now, as not only do I have GCSEs fast approaching, but I'm now also part of this group to do with economics (stock market stuff), which'll take up more of my time.**

**Anyways, hope you all enjoy the rest of the story :)**

**Joshua (the author)**


	14. Chapter 14: Electric Battle

**Chapter 14: Electric Fight**

_Quick Spidey quick, you've got to come up with something!_ Spiderman could only look on as Venom pounced towards his left and Electro fired a beam of electricity towards his right. _Think. What can I do to stop them? Who should I stop? Since Venom's actually headed towards me, and my suit will take some electricity, I'll stop Venom first. But how?_ Venom's mouth started to open wide, saliva drooping. It gave Peter an idea. _The black substance protects the outside of the boy's body. But his mouth..leads to the unprotected inside of his body. If I can just...for one second..._ He quickly activated a new setting on his web shooters-_Electrabsorbers_. With Venom just inches away, he fired a web string straight into his mouth, just before Electro's blast was absorbed by the web shooter. Sparks of electricity travelled along the string of web, straight down into Venom's mouth, causing his body to shake viciously. Once Spidey thought he'd suffered enough, he released him from his web's grip, letting him fall onto the ground. _Well, that worked out. One down, one to go._

He turned his attention to Electro, who went for another blast at Spiderman. "Just _die_, Spider!" With that, he fired two beams of light at the wall that Spiderman jumped off of, leaving a gaping gap in the brickwork. Spiderman then fired a web swing onto a wall of another building, swinging from building to building.

_I have to get him away from the streets. But where?_ All he could do for now if keep the electric man occupied. "Come on, Sparky," he urged sarcastically, "let's go for some fresh air!" As he swung away, Electro followed, firing electricity at wherever the red-and-blue blur had been a second earlier. To Electro, he was just too fast. Occasionally, he would get lucky and cut off one of his webs, but Spiderman always came up with an idea to keep himself in the air.

But even after so long Peter had to falter. Electro, on the other hand, had enough energy in him to zoom through the unlit streets at lightning-fast speeds. He fired a shot directly at the webslinger, which connected with a force that sent him straight onto the concrete ground below. As he tried to get up, Electro flew towards him, fist clenched. Sensing this, Spiderman quickly jumped up, firing a web string at his body. With one huge pull, Electro suddenly found himself being pulled round and round, until he crashed into the side of a car, leaving an indent the shape of his body. Whist the villain was dazed, Spiderman, took off again, swinging from one side to the other. After a few seconds, Electro rose back up, before disappearing into one of the electrical appliances inside someone's nearby house.

Spiderman was running out of ideas and energy. _How can I stop him? Last time, it wasn't just me stopping him-Gwen was needed to start up the power grid again. That's not possible this time around... What else can stop him?_ Whilst he was swinging, he caught a glimpse of something in the background-the docks. _Water. When his powers just surfaced, I stopped him with a fire hydrant. But now that he's more powerful...will seawater be enough to stop him? Let's hope so._ Spiderman quickly fired a web string at the top corner of the building, allowing him to turn 90 degrees to the left and change direction. Electro was now on his tail, but he still couldn't get a clear shot of the hero, instead leaving holes in buildings.

After a minute of this, Spiderman reached the docklands-but not before Electro tackled him to the ground from behind. His blue hand squeezed Spiderman's throat, his other hand being used to punched the web head. "Spiderman," his electric voice now more menacing than before, "is this where you've chosen to _die_?" Before he could get another punch in, Spiderman made sure a web shot stuck onto one of the crates, sticking his hand in the air. In retaliation, Electro released a surge of electricity from the hand grasping his throat, trying to make the hero suffer. "Is that really all you've _got_?!" Almost unfazed, Spiderman fired two web strings onto the base of another crate, pulling himself out from the villain's reach. Quickly, he then fired a web string at Electro, and started to spin. Suddenly, the blue enemy was taken round and round in the air, whilst Spiderman calculated just where and when to release him.

_I need to get this right. I need to make sure that he's underwater. Hopefully, depending on his swimming skills, he won't drown. But with a little luck, it should drain his powers._ "Hey Electro, don't you feel like we're just going _round_ and _round_ in circles?" With that, Spiderman released his grip of the strings, letting Electro fall. The timing was perfect: the blue body started to fall into the open sea.

And then he appeared.

A green smoke trail immediately alerted Spiderman of The Green Goblin's presence, as the deranged enemy travelled swiftly to where the body would've landed on his glider. Harry opened out his arms, catching his blue 'friend' before he hit the water. "Sorry _Spiderman_," he crazily said, keeping back his anger at the hero, "but this is _my_ play toy." With that, and a loud cackle, he flew away at breathtaking speeds, so much so that Spiderman couldn't keep up with him as he darted around the buildings. Once out of view, he snarled down at the slightly dazed Electro in his arms. "_Electro_! Turn back on the power, or I swear, I'll make sure to _kill_ you!" The both stared at each other, silently trying to gain the upper hand of the argument. Eventually, the blue figure disappeared into an electrical appliance. A few seconds later, all of the streetlights and windows began to light up a warm orange again.

Spiderman noticed this too-_What now? Is Electro gone? What about The Green Goblin? And...Venom!_ He quickly fired a web string onto a building and swung towards where he last saw him. _How did the Stacy kid get this power? Why would he be at Oscorp?_

After a few minutes, he was back at The Empire State Building, finding...nothing. There was no body lying down where Parker originally left it. Just the masses of civilians and news reporters that had gathered on the streets. His head started to ache: _Spider senses!_ He looked up above the crowds of people to see a large electronic signpost, it's metal support crumbling. _Come on! I'm not getting a break today, am I?_ He jumped onto the ceiling that the sign was falling from, before firing a web string onto its back. He grasped the string, trying to pull it back up. He could feel his strength draining, as well as the white string of web snapping under the pressure. _It's not gonna hold!_ Suddenly, he felt two sparks circle his waist, pulling him backwards, aiding him to keep the civilians below safe. With one final outburst from Spiderman, he pulled the signpost up so that it fell onto the ceiling, before collapsing with the mysterious person on the rooftop with him. They both quickly got up, allowing Spiderman to catch a long look at the person. She wore a tight black spandex suit, with high heels and black gloves. She recognised the long black hair and the red lips from his visits to Harry when they were still friends. "Felicia Hardy? What are you-"

"Before you start," she interrupted, slightly frustrated, "let me tell you my side of things."


	15. Chapter 15: Kingpins and Black Cats

**Chapter 15: Kingpins and Black Cats**

"I've got a few questions." Spiderman saw this as a perfect opportunity to find out just what Oscorp is doing. "First of all, why are _you_, the CEO of Oscorp, standing on rooftops with spandex on helping _me_ do my job? And secondly, care to explain exactly _why_ Oscorp's been creating people like The Vulture and Venom recently?"

"Oh _come on_, use your initiative, Spiderboy. Who do you think's _really_ in control of Oscorp? Answer: Harry Osbourne. I'm just his model." She smirked slightly, enjoying the webhead think hard for a reasonable assumption that she was in fact guilty. All her life, she's watched men control her and other people. It amused her when it was the other way round. "Now, can I explain yet, or are you gonna keep asking me questions?"

"You can explain why you've got a diamond in your hair the size of my _apartment_!" He had only just noticed the hidden gem tucked away in her hair.

"I'll get to it, Spiderboy." she replied cooly.

30 minutes ago...

The air in the ventilation duct was nothing short of stale, but she needed as much of it as she could get. Luckily for her, her small body allowed her to slip through the gap easily. Osbourne gave clear instructions: infiltrate Fisk Industries and retrieve the diamond. Otherwise, her father would die. Which she didn't mind happening. After the childhood she was originally given by him-verbal abuses carrying the smell of alcohol, never meeting friends or even, at one point, having an education. The crimes didn't help either. Almost daily the police would knock on their old wooden door, asking Mr Hardy to come to the door so that they could question him for information regarding robberies. That is, if he did come home the same night he took off.

But she was here- in a ventilation shaft at Fisk Industries for one reason only, the same as the reason she decided to take over Oscorp officially- to prove she was not weak. For years of her life, men would try to take advantage of her, and she would make sure she left a mark on them- that is, where Spider-Man's webs don't stick to. It's why she even took self defence classes. So that she wasn't seen as weak to the male-ruled society she lived in. But that's what Harry called her when she refused. His words still echoed in her brain. _"Anyone who can't even protect their own family is just...weak! Weak and feeble! You don't want to be that, do you?" I'll show him. I'll show all of them- I'm not to be messed with._

From the vents cover nearest to her, she could tell that the power had turned off in the corridor. _Perfect. I don't know why the power's off, but the security systems may be down._ With that, she kicked down the vent cover, before sleekly and silently jumping down. Her run was also silent, despite the long heels. She knew exactly where she was headed-she knew everything about the building. The security systems, the staff. Even a bit on the owner himself. _Wilson Fisk. Also known as The Kingpin of Crime._ A man brought up believing that crime was the way forwards in life, and that violence is the only way of showing your might. _Another man trying to gain power. _She sneakily looked around the corner, hearing the two guardsmen talking to one another, using torches as light. "This pay is _ridiculous_."

"_Tell_ me about it. For what we do-"

"Hello, boys." Both torch lights faced immediately towards where the sultry voice came from. There was no one there. Suddenly, the guard to the right turned to see that his coworker had vanished, replaced by a short woman with long dark hair and a spark in her eye. She slowly held her finger to her hand, silently telling him 'Shhh'. She then raised her left leg up to his head, instantly knocking him out with one sweep. "Night night. Sleep tight." She then turned to where she knew the vault door was. She felt her way to the lock, which required a 7-digit number. _Great. This'll take up a minute of my time. _She took a quick scan for any other patrols nearby, before pulling out a gadget she had hidden in her belt. On its side was the engraved 'Oscorp' logo. She quickly stuck the device to the number keys, and watched as the machine typed in the correct code for her. The loud creak of the metal as it opened allowed a hint of red lighting to escape, enough so that Felicia could see where she was walking now. She took short crisscrossed steps as if on a catwalk towards the small chest placed on the pedestal in the overly-large room. _This is it_ she thought. _Now everyone'll see that I'm not just a pretty face._ She carefully prized open the brown wooden chest, its slow creaking and purple velvet revealing... Nothing. _It's empty? Why?_

"My, my, the _infamous_ Black Cat thief." a deep, gravely voice bellowed from behind.

She quickly turned around to see a platoon of security guards, all huddled around one humongous, bald, middle-aged man with a purple shirt, white suit and trousers, and a long black walking stick...with a diamond stuck on the top. "Well well," she replied calmly, before adding sarcastically "It's an _honour_ to be greeted by The Kingpin of Crime itself." She took an over exaggerated bow to the giant, before slowly rising again, ready to get down to business. "Now, unfortunately for you, Big Boy, my employee wants that cute little jewel on your staff, so I'll need you to give me that."

"Oh dear," he replied with an equal tone of mockery, "and I thought we could've gotten along." He pointed towards her with the hand not grasping his staff. "Boys, _kill_ her." With that, simultaneously, all of the body guards charged towards the lone woman. Instead of panicking, she quickly activated a button on her watch, releasing an instantly large amount of white gas into the room. Bewildered, everyone-even the Kingpin himself- looked around the room. Wilson could feel the impact of her kick on his chest, as well as the wiring she used to tie him up. When the smoke had cleared, the guards turned around to see the fat body of their boss, lying sideways on the ground, his hands and legs tied up. He quickly looked at his stick, where the diamond had been taken. Panicking, he turned to his troops. "Don't just stand there, _imbeciles_! Find her!" The thugs cleared the room, scattering away from one another as they checked the endless maze of corridors. Little did they know she had already escaped out of an opened window onto the rooftops of New York.

"So, hold on a minute," Spiderman interrupted, now seated on the wreckage of the signpost, "why did you come_ here_?"

Desperately, she replied "I needed to find you. To _warn_ you. I may be many things-a thief, a liar- but I'm not a _murderer_."

"What about?" He stood up now, intrigued.

"Harry's planning something, Spiderman. Something that he _needs_ this crystal for. He spends his days working in the Special Projects sector, trying to create something. A machine." She then paused, cautious of what she was about to say. "I may put up with Harry in the long run for me and my father's sake, but that does not mean I agree with what he's doing."

"Thanks." he replied, deep in thought. "Is there anything else you know about this 'machine'?"

"Sorry, Spiderboy, but no." She then smiled wickedly. "So... Listen...if you one day want to help me stop a few crimes on the street, and then _maybe_-"

"Sorry," he interrupted, happy to be saying what he's about to say, "but I'm already sorta in a relationship." With that, he fired a web string onto a nearby building and jumped off the roof, swinging towards the traffic, not even thinking about accepting Felicia's proposal. _I've gotta see if Lucy's alright. And then I've got some explaining to do._


	16. Chapter 16: Nighttime Stories

**Chapter 16: Nighttime Stories**

Lucy was watching the report on the recent fight between Spiderman, Electro and some other superpowered party. _Come on, Peter. Where are you?_

All she could do was listen to what Amanda Cho from WWN had to say on the subject. _"Witnesses to the scene tonight said that they saw two villains fighting each other outside The Empire State Building, just before the publicly-approved vigilante Spiderman appeared on the scene. It is rumoured that he took down both villains, but both escaped from the forces of the police. Many people are asking questions regarding the battles that took place at Times Square and OscorPower, such as exactly how Electro survived the incident. What we do know is that the whole city should be grateful that the webslinger saved us once again from evil. Now, we do have two eye witnesses here that say that Spiderman pulled them away from an exploding car. Now, can you shed some light on what happened?"_ Lucy quickly turned off the TV. She couldn't bare to hear much more. All she wanted to do right now was shut herself away from the real world, and just wait for Peter to come back. She pushed her headphones into her ears, fiddled with her IPod, and listened to her favourite song.

_?When life leaves you high and dry_

_I'll be at your door tonight_

_If you need help, if you need help._

_I'll shut down the city lights,_

_I'll lie, cheat, I'll beg and bribe_

_To make you well, to make you well._

_When enemies are at your door_

_I'll carry you away from war_

_If you need help, if you need help._

_Your hope dangling by a string_

_I'll share in your suffering_

_To make you well, to make you well._

_Give me reasons to believe_

_That you would do the same for me._

_And I would do it for you, for you...?_

However hard she tried, all she could think about was Peter. _What state will he be in when he gets back?_ Is he hurt badly? She didn't have to wait much longer to find out:

KNOCK KNOCK

Lucy quickly jerked her head around to see the familiar red mask peeping through the window, only this time with burn marks and a few small rips and scratches. She quickly dashed towards the window, letting her headphones drop out of her ears, opening the window as far as she could. Peter stumbled in, weakened from the epic fight before. She could hear he was breathless, and she could see the burns on his skin where the suit had been ripped. Covering her mouth with her hands was the only way she could prevent herself from creaming out for an ambulance. Sensing her panic, Peter slowly made her way towards her, arms opened out, so that he could hug her, whining whenever she squeezed a bruise or a burn. Lucy always felt safer in his embrace, but she couldn't help but shed a tear when he let go. Peter wiped it away with his finger, reassuring her. "Don't worry. My days aren't normally as bad as _this._" He then smiled his irresistible cheeky smile, causing even Lucy to curved her lips slightly.

Lucy took a seat on her bed before talking. "No one had any idea where you were, Pete. Got me worried."

Peter put his muscular arm around her, as if to say 'It's alright, I'm right here'. "So then, where did we leave off?"

Taking a pause to regain her posture, she responded "Well first of all you're gonna get a first aid kit and let me fix you up. Agreed?"

Her stern tone reminded Peter of Gwen slightly, particularly whenever she wanted to help him out with anything. She wouldn't take 'No' as an answer. "Fine, _Mom_." She smiled for a second, before quickly web swinging out of the window and back into his room. He was lucky his Aunt May was snores, otherwise she'd of heard him. The green box was on top of his wooden desk. He quickly snatched the handle before jumping out into the night again. He started to quietly sing to himself as he swung.

_?And I would do it for you, for you._

_Baby, I'm not moving on_

_I'll love you long after you're gone._

_For you, for you._

_You will never sleep alone._

_I'll love you long after you're gone_

_And long after you're gone, gone, gone.?_

Peter hauled himself into the open window, where he found Lucy sat cross-legged on the foot of the bed, ready to patch him up. Even now, at quarter past midnight, even though she hadn't slept a wink, she was still beautiful. He took a seat opposite her, taking off the torso of the spandex costume so that she could work without damaging his suit further. Meanwhile, trying hard not to stare at his chest, Lucy dug through the first aid kit he'd placed in between them, pulling out a needle, some thread and a few rolls of bandages. "Ready Pete?" He nodded, signalling the first movements of the needle and string. Whilst she worked, she knew that now would be the perfect time to ask some more questions. "So...listen...just before you left, I was asking you about...Gwen. What _actually_ happened?"

Slightly hesitantly, Peter told her everything. He'd never really trusted anyone to tell her story beforehand. He trusted Lucy though. He told her about how they met, about how she helped when he first became Spiderman, how he promised her dad to stay away, about how that tore them apart slightly, about how she made plans to move to England, and about how, just before the last fight, he said he'd go with her. "And then that's when Electro shut down the power to the entire city. I tried to stop her from following me, but she still did. Both of us defeated him together."

"And then The Green Goblin came along." Words couldn't describe exactly how much sympathy she felt towards the boy.

He nodded silently. "He came to kill me because I didn't help him with a disease. And so he decided to kill Gwen." He took a deep breath, trying not to break down and cry. "I tried to save her...but... Harry was my friend. When he found out who I was, he..." He stopped talking, letting the words speak for themselves.

Lucy, understanding this, quickly moved the subject away from Gwen's death. "When you...kissed me...what did that mean?"

Quickly, he responded "If what you're worried about is just being a..._replacement_, don't be. You're not that."

"Well, what am I to you? What do _you_ want to do?" she replied calmly.

"Well..." he started, not exactly sure what to say that would be 'correct', "would you...maybe...one day...want to-"

"Yeah, sure." She smiled cheekily, knowing what the blushing boy was trying to say. She pulled the needle one last time. "Hey, we're done." She started packing the sewing equipment away, whilst Peter stood up.

"I need to repair the suit now. _You_ need to get some sleep, and I'll see if I can see you in the morning?"

"Sure Pete." she replied reassuringly. He then gently kissed her forehead before jumping out of the window. She watched as he crawled into his own bedroom window, closing hers once he had disappeared from view. She then turned off all of the lights, tucked herself into her pink bed covers and dreamt about how exactly the 'date' with Spiderman would go.

In his room, he collapsed into his room, ignoring his broken suit and his new stitches. He was so tired after the night he'd had, all he wanted to do right now is sleep. He was afraid to, though- whenever he did, he would dream about the night Gwen died. But not tonight. Tonight, he dreamt about Lucy, and all of the possibilities he had with her now. For the first time in months, Peter got some sleep.

**Big shout out to highlander348, Schindler13 and SwimmerGirl77 for your reviews :)**


	17. Chapter 17: A First Date With Spiderman

**Chapter 17: A Typical First Date With Spiderman**

The Vault. Home to the most dangerous group of criminals and villains in the world. Inside were two muscular guys who had been convicted of terrorism, and sentenced for life. They both had tattoos carved across their arms, the rest of their inked bodies covered over their orange uniforms. Opposite them in the darkly lit visitors suite was Mr Fiers, still wearing his hat and long coat. "Good evening, gentlemen. How are you enjoying your stay?"

The man to the right spoke with a native Australian accent. "Stop the small talk, man. What do you want from me and Shocky here?" He nudged his partner's side, waking him up from his daydream.

"I have a proposal for you gentlemen, in exchange for your freedom from here."

"PETER!" No matter how many gadgets Peter develops over the years, no one will ever manage to prevent Aunt May's screaming. "IT'S 10AM! YOU'LL BE LATE FOR YOUR DATE WITH LUCY!" He immediately opened his eyes, racing out of the door and down the stairs, where May had made some toast.

"How do _you_-"

"You talk in your sleep sometimes," she interrupted defensively, "so much so I can hear you through the walls. Now quickly, eat up, and then get ready!" She held up a piece of toast directly towards his mouth, which was wide open from what she had just admitted.

"Okay _okay_." he replied, trying to keep his aunt from force-feeding him. "I don't see what _you're_ so excited about."

"I don't see why _you're_ not! You're going on _a date_!"

"I _am_ excited, I just know how to hide it!" He then took a huge bite out of his slice of toast, smiling when he looked at his aunt again.

She started to push Peter up the stairs, urging him to start getting ready, whilst shoving a box of TicTacs into his pockets. "GO! And take these with you!"

"May, I _am_ coming back home, you know. I'm not joining the _army_."

"Of course you wouldn't, Pete, otherwise I'd kill you." They were both upstairs now, Peter still chewing his toast as May passed him his toothbrush and toothpaste. "Now get ready! I'll see you downstairs in five minutes!" She started making her way downstairs, leaving Peter in the hallway with a toothbrush in his hand and toast in his mouth.

"_Five minutes_?!" He quickly swallowed the pieces of bread that remained, before turning back to where she had just been. "May, I'm not The Flash!" With that, he quickly darted into the bathroom to use his ready-made toothbrush.

In 20 minutes time, Peter was dressed in a clean hoodie, shirt and khaki trousers, had used a couple of the TicTacs, and had managed to repair his costume. He had decided to wear the spandex underneath all of his clothing, just in case anything happened whilst he was out. _I can't actually believe that I'm going on a date again. It feels like it's been forever since I've been on one._ He checked that every part of his body was prestige and clean, if not for his sakes then for his aunts. _All clear. Let's go. _He strode his way down the stairs, jumping off the second-to-last step with a little flurry.

"Didn't I say 5 minutes?!" Peter turned around to see May packing her things for her nursing classes. She wore her dark blue uniform with a thin black fleece over it.

"_Sorry_." He wanted to confront her about why she was so determined to make me presentable, but he already knew why- she wanted him to make it last. After Gwen, only Aunt May really saw how sad Peter was. She never wants him to feel like that again. So, instead, he put on a cheeky smile on his face and made his way towards the door.

"No, wait, hold on!" Peter stopped in his tracks, slowly turning around to see her fishing for something in one of the kitchen drawers. She returned with a black leaflet advertising a Chinese restaurant and sushi bar in Chinatown. "Take her here." She placed the piece of paper in his hand. "Apparently, it's meant to be one of the best in the area."

"I will." he replied, thankful. "Love you."

"Love you too." They then hugged for a second, before May shooed him out of the front door. _I wonder how Lucy's doing._

Lucy was in a panic. In that one morning, her house had turned into a battleground between her brother and her mother. Oliver kept pestering Lucy about how Peter and Spiderman, asking ridiculous questions starting with 'Who would win in a fight' whilst she was drying her hair and putting on her make-up. She would always answer with "I don't know" or "I can't right now, I'm busy".

She finally snapped when he asked her "Do you fancy Spiderman?" with a devilish grin on his young face.

She swung around on her desk chair vigorously, he face turning into a beetroot. "OH MY GOD! CAN YOU PLEASE JUST LET ME GET READY FOR MY DATE WITH PETER?!" Little did she know her mum was just around the corner.

"So _that's_ why you're making such an effort today." She popped her head around the corner, before coming into full view to shoo Oliver away. "Come on Oliver, you go play downstairs." He jumped down the stairs, pretending to be swinging in the city like Spiderman. After a few seconds, she turned to her daughter. "Now... You're going on a date with Peter, huh? I told you he liked you." She smiled smugly. "Listen, I'll leave you to it, to get ready. If you need me, you'll know where to find me." She started to make her way downstairs.

"Wait." Suzanne turned on the spot. "Can I have your help?"

"With what?"

Lucy sighed. "Am I doing this right?"

"What do you mean?" She paused, trying to think of what to say. "Lucy, have you noticed that, apart from the odd gossip about it, I've not said one thing about you and Peter, and you're going out on a date with him. I didn't help at _all_. You don't need _my_ help. As you know, I'm not exactly a relationship master-"

"Hey, don't worry 'bout that. Dad was the jerk back then." She let out a friendly smile of reassurance to please her mum.

"The point is, just be yourself. It's gotten you _this_ far." With that, she started to walk away.

10 minutes later, Lucy walked her way down the stairs in a yellow summer dress, her black hair flowing freely. Her high heels created loud CLANKS with each step. "So, how do I look?" She was very nervous, evident by her blushing.

"You look...beautiful." Suzanne struggled for words to describe just how her daughter had grown up. "Peter's a lucky boy."

"Yeah," she replied cheekily, "I know." DIIIINNNNG "He's here. I'd better get going."

"Okay Angel, have fun." With that, Lucy turned towards the door, slowly opening it. Seeing Peter's nervous yet cheeky smile, as well as his usual dress code, was almost a relief for her, as if to say he survived the night. He was fiddling with a piece of black paper nervously. She could tell he hadn't been on a date in a long while. She gave off her friendliest smile, trying not to blush. "Hey Pete." She leaned in a bit, noticing how well his face had healed, speaking in a hushed tone. "How'd you heal so fast?"

"I don't know," he joked, "something to do with that radioactive spider that bit me, I think. You, on the other hand, look...beautiful!"

"I know." She smiled cheekily.

"You ready?"

"Yep." She turned around to address her mum in the kitchen. "I'm going now Mum!" She then shut the door behind her. "So then, know any good places to eat?"

"Well, one of my friends who is an expert-"

"Your aunt." They both smiled

"-yes, my aunt, recommended _this_ place." He held up the flyer in his hand to reveal an advertisement for a Chinese restaurant and sushi bar. "What do you think?"

"You do know you're talking to the girl from Minnesota, where Chinese food is a rarity?" They both started to laugh as they made their way towards Chinatown.

"You _didn't_!" The couple were seated at the restaurant, with sushi plates stacked up on the sides of the table. Originally it started out as a joke from Peter: he dared Lucy to try all of the sushi dishes, as a way of making up for 19 years of never having any. 35 dishes later, they were completely stuffed, enjoying each other's company and stories.

"It's _true_, I ended up riding the skateboard that Uncle Ben was attached to into the river." They both started to laugh the place out, causing a few stares from other customers. Peter paused for a minute, staring at how beautiful Lucy was that day.

"What is it Pete?" She had noticed after a few seconds.

"It's just-"

ARRRRRGHHHH!

They both turned their head to see a cascade of people running towards the right, screaming in panic. They then turned to one another, knowing what had to happen. "Lucy, stay close by." With that he dashed out of the store to see what was happening. He pushed open the glass doors, his head starting to hurt. _Spider sense!_ He quickly jumped up, firing his web string onto the roof of the building, narrowly dodging a pile of taxicabs flying his direction. Once he landed on the rooftop, he pulled off his t-shirt and jeans, revealing his spandex costume. _How the hell could a car be propelled up in the air like that?_ He turned around to see how, in shock of what he laid his bug-eyed mask on. _What the hell? _


	18. Chapter 18: Shock and Awe

**Chapter 18: Shock And Awe**

Next to the large wooden doors to the bank downtown was a huge hole in the wall. The dust started to settle onto the floor, revealing the criminals at play here. One of them wore a yellow and brown spandex costume, as well as two chunky mechanical gauntlets, whilst the other was flying in the air, grasping onto a boomerang. He wore a navy blue and silver costume. _If it's bad to swim after eating, is it worse to fight crime afterwards?_ Spiderman quickly set off, swinging towards the robbery. What he didn't see below him was Lucy running down there too.

"Shocky, fire it again!" Fred Myers- or Boomerang, as he preferred to be called- was always an adrenaline junkie, getting excited whenever the pair did a bank heist or got into a car chase.

"It's _Shocker_!" Herman Schultz, on the other hand, always kept his cool. "You fire one that explodes, I'll fire a couple more cars to remove any witnesses." Without hesitation, they did. Boomerang, still in the air, threw his explosive at an elderly couple trying to escape as quickly as their feet took them. Shocker slammed his gauntlets on the ground, releasing a sound wave that cracked the concrete below them and sent cars tumbling.

Spiderman jumped down from directly above the first tumbling car. It had already rolled once, meaning that he landed on its crumpled bonnet. It had already started to turn upside down again. He only had about a second to save the couple. But for Spiderman, that second lasted for a long time. _Come on. I need to get this one shot on target._ The bonnet started to face towards the ground, the webslinger holding on by his sticking abilities. With a clear line of fire, he shot a web string directly at the boomerang. _Yes! Direct hit!_ Then, with one clean motion, he yanked on the rope, causing the boomerang to change trajectory towards him, and away from the civilians. Spiderman jumped off the bonnet onto the ground below to backflip out of the way, releasing the web string. The boomerang flew straight into the side of the car as it landed upside down on the road. Spiderman was almost laughing when he found out how weak the explosion was- it barely managed to break down the two car doors. "Sorry, guys," he sniggered out, "but ComicCon's not on in Chinatown."

"It's the _Spider_!" Herman spoke with a strong German accent. "Boomerang, protect the loot und I will deal with this _insect_."

"It's '_arachnid_'! I'm an _arachnid_!" He deliberately made himself sound hurt. "Why does everyone say _insect_ instead?!" Shocker, annoyed with Spidey's rambling, fired a beam of sound waves at the floor where the hero was. Spiderman quickly jumped out of the way, firing a web string at his gauntlets when he landed. He pulled tight, causing the gauntlet on his left hand to fall to pieces on the floor. Shocker started to curse his technology, before angrily charging at the webhead, fists clenched, shouting out a battle cry. Once he was close enough, Spiderman leaped towards him, using his spider senses to predict what was to happen next. For Peter, everything slowed down. _I need to get this jump just right._ He landed on Shocker's remaining gauntlet, before quickly propelling himself towards the sky. Shocker's sound blast completely missed Spiderman, instead hitting the windows of a nearby shops. Seeing this, Boomerang fired another of his weapons at the hero. Spiderman saw an opportunity. He attached a web string to the boomerang, before guiding it back towards its owner. "Don't you know that boomerangs fly back to their owners?" As the boomerang flew back the way it came, a small dial popped up, releasing an EMP blast. Both Boomerang and Spiderman were caught in the blast. Spider-Man's web shooters survived the impact due to their magnetisation 10 months ago, but Boomerang's rocket boots started to falter, causing him to crash land onto the floor. When Spidey rose from his crouched landing position, the street looked almost like a war zone. He slowly made his way towards the body of the Australian, which was stuck in a man-shaped crater. "Okay, Boomerang boy. Enough jokes. What's this all about?" His interrogations meant that Spiderman didn't sense Shocker's gauntlet in the air, ready to strike.

_Now I've got him._ He was ready to strike, ready to earn a fortune. Suddenly...

"OI, Shocky!" _Lucy!_ Spiderman recognises the voice anywhere.

Before he could turn around, he felt a fairly large stone fall onto his shoulder, causing him to turn red under his yellow mask. "Ohhhh... Now, little one," he started to charge towards her, "you will die!" Lucy looked up at the metal fist in the air, awaiting just what may happen next.

"Oh no you don't!" Lucy, at the last second, saw a web string make contact with the gauntlet, causing Shocker to stop and turn around to face the web crawler. "Didn't your mommy tell you it's not nice to treat girls like that?" He then, with his left hand, fired a web string at one of the loose car doors, swinging it towards the gauntlet he held in the air. With this impact, it smashed into pieces, rendering him powerless. Without giving the criminal a chance to recover, Spiderman fired countless webs at him, tying him up into a cocoon. Once they both were lying on the floor, Spiderman slowly made his towards the two villains. "So then, at a random guess, did Oscorp hire you?"

Herman started to laugh out loud, almost out of control. "You really think _Oscorp_ wants anything to do with _us_ criminals?"

"So who _did_ hire you?"

This time Fred started to speak. "Why should _we_ tell _you_?"

"'Cause if not, I'll have to throw you off The Empire State Building." He smiled at this remark- _I always wanted to do that._

"Ok ok," Fred cracked, "he goes by the name Mr Fiers. That's all we know. _Ok_?"

After a small pause to digest this information, he started to walk away, letting the police that had just arrived on the scene take care of the pair. He made his way towards Lucy, who was staring at the scene. "Hey. Sorry 'bout the date."

"Now worries, I understand."

"By the way, thanks for your throwing arm."

"Please, it's fine. I'm just helping you out."

"No seriously, I _ruined_ the date. It was just meant to be the two of us-"

"No-"

"_So_, I'm gonna make it up to you. Ever seen the view from The Empire State Building?"

"Wha-" Before she could say anything, Peter lifted her off the air, before whisking her away into the air using his webs towards The Empire State Building.

It only took a couple of minutes to reach the top. Lucy was mesmerised by the metropolis view, but more so that her date took her here. Spiderman stood behind her, making sure she didn't fall off the edge, his mask off. "So what do you think?"

"It's beautiful." She couldn't take her gaze off Peter afterwards. "The view's not so bad either." They both started to giggle, not taking their eyes off each other. It was a magical moment..about to go wrong.

Just before they were about to kiss, Peter saw the pink dart on her neck, before feeling her start to droop. "Lucy?" He tried to hold her up, but he could feel another shot being fired using his heightened senses. _If I let the tranquilliser hit me, both of us will fall off. I hope this works._ He quickly let go of Lucy's body, dodging the zooming dart. However, he didn't quite catch Lucy again.

She started to fall.


	19. Chapter 19: The Hunt Begins

**Chapter 19: The Hunt Begins**

He didn't focus on the traffic below, or the tranquilliser darts being fired at him, or the thousands of people watching him there and then. He only saw Lucy falling, unconscious, unable to scream and shout. It reminded him of the events of 10 months ago at OscorPower, when Gwen fell too. He only hoped he could save the girl this time. Having put on his mask mid-fall, he dived down towards her, extending his arms out to grab her when he was close enough. He then turned around to fire a web string at the skyscraper, allowing him to stop falling and swing Lucy away from the incident. He was careful not to let her fall again, for he feared she wouldn't be so easily saved. _Who did this? Why attack Lucy first? Nothing makes any sense anymore in the crime world._ He checked how Lucy was- she was breathing just fine. _It must only have made her sleep. Either way, I'd better get her home._

On a nearby rooftop, a middle aged man slowly packed away a sniper rifle into a briefcase. His long black beard swayed slightly in the breeze, as did his tiger fur waistcoat. _Next time, Spiderman, you will end up in my collection._

Lucy's eyes started to flicker open slowly, revealing she was in her room, lying on her own bed. The last thing she could remember was staring into Peter's eyes. He wondered where he was now. "Pete?" She looked around the house. _Where'd you go? And what happened?_ She turned around to see the window was open, the classic sign that he had left. She made her way to the small kitchen, finding herself a carton of orange juice. She started to pour some out when she heard a clatter from her room. _Peter?_ Leaving everything, she ran up the steps back into her room, where Peter, now fully clothed in an ordinary t-shirt and trousers, with a bag of food.

"Hey, you're awake." He seemed surprised at this, making Lucy suspicious.

"And why wouldn't I be?"

"Well...someone sorta fired a tranq at you."

"_What?!_" She couldn't believe it-_why would they fire one at me? Heck, Spiderman was right there!_ "_My God!_ When did this happen?"

"On the Empire State Building. Sorry _again_." He buried his head in his hands, not knowing what to do. "I nearly lost you." He held back a few tears.

"Hey, don't worry." She tired her best to comfort the poor boy, but she didn't really have much expertise at doing so. "Look, you saved me, yes?" He nodded, still keeping his hands where they were-planted on top of his face. "I've not got any permanent side effects, do I?" He shook his head, starting to look up. "Well then, I'm alright. Stop beating yourself up about it."

He knew that there was more to his sudden sadness, more about how he failed to save Gwen. However, he decided to let it go for now- _Lucy has already had a rough day. Let's not go through all that either and make everyone miserable._ He nodded silently.

Having cleared that, Lucy looked down at the bag of food he brought with him. "What's all this for?"

"Well..." he started, indicating its something he'll find slightly embarrassing to admit, "I didn't know how long you'd be asleep for, and so I thought...why not stay here and look after you." He smiled a cute, almost playful smile, one which resembled that of a puppy.

"You were gonna stay here and _guard_ me? That's...really sweet." She was a bit surprised at this. No one in her life- even her foster parents- ever really guarded her the way Peter described he would've done before.

"On a different note," he suddenly turned much more serious, "there's something going on, something...revolving around you."

"What do you mean?"

"When I save a person twice, I call it a coincidence. But when I save someone three times, and there's something to do with _Oscorp_ and _supervillans_ involved, it's no longer a coincidence, it means that...you're the target for something." He waited for the information to sink in. "Do you know _any_ reason why Oscorp would want you?" She slowly shook her head. Peter was back to square one- trying to work out exactly what Oscorp was after. "I need you to stay low for a while, or at least hang around me for a bit, just so you're safe."

She smirked slightly. "Sounds like you want to spend some more time with me."

"Well yeah-"

Suddenly, Peter's custom made police radio blared to life. _10-2, 10-2, we've got another supervillan on the streets. This time it's that weird rhino thing. Over._

"Oh _why_?! Can't I just have a few seconds of privacy?" He sighed in annoyance, contemplating what to do.

"You go. Save people. I'll be fine."

"You sure you're gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm one tough cookie." They both hugged each other, before Peter jumped out of the open window. Tired, Lucy slowly went to lie down on her bed and sleep. As her eyes began to close, she could see the dart that struck her on her desk, flashing a bright red. _That's odd. Since when does a tranq dart light up?_ As she raised up and walked towards it, she heard a hum from a machine. Getting closer and closer. Lucy stumbled back as suddenly a green figure riding a green glider flew into view, snarling with green teeth. His face was covered with red and green marks on his skins, and his blond hair stood on end, like a mad scientist's.

"Hello Lucy." His voice carried a certain level of anger and pain. "I think we should have a chat."

On the streets of New York, cars were bing crumpled and pushed aside as The Rhino scrambled along the road, followed by a river of red and blue flashing lights. Up in the air and the now orange skyline of the city, Spiderman, now in his costume, swung from side to side, firing web strings as he tried to lower himself down towards the chaos. _Oh great. This guy again._ Aleksei Sykcevich had turned into an annoying enemy of the web crawler's ever since he pulled his pants down when they first met. Now armed with Oscorp technology, The Rhino's a much more formidable enemy. Spiderman was now much lower down to the road, sometimes dodging pieces of metal that had flown away from the chase. _I need to get closer._ He quickly landed on one of the police cars in pursuit, before jumping towards the cars in front of him, hoping a piece of metal or glass wouldn't pierce his chest again. After a while, Spiderman was on the car closest to the mechanical rhino. Knowing his sticking powers would keep him in place, he stood onto the bonnet of the car, knocking on the front window to alert the driver of his presence. "MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE SOME ROOM FOR ME TO WORK!" His voice was only just hearable amongst the sirens around him, but was enough for the cars to begin to slow down. _Here goes._ He quickly turned around, firing a web string at The Rhino's back, using it to propel himself. Suddenly, Peter found himself riding on top of the criminal. _It's like riding one of those electronic bull that attempt to knock you off at the fairground._ As Peter remembered his experiences riding this fairground attraction, he pulled at a few tubes sticking out of the armour. "C'mon, Rhino. You've had your temporary freedom from the Raft for the month. Now it's time to go back."

"Not today, Spider!" His Russian accent was clear despite the noise around him, as the criminal skidded to a halt, breaking up the road as he did. Spiderman had to hold on (and stick on) to dear life, hoping his head wouldn't land on the concrete road. Once he had stopped, Spiderman crawled his way towards the suit's underbelly, before starting to peel away at the armour pieces. "Stop! Or I kill!" The Rhino started to rise to a standing posture, aiming his machine guns at the pedestrians on the pavement. This caused a panic, leading to many people running in the police's way.

"Oh now, why would you do that?" With that, Peter jumped off the armour, landing on the broken concrete floor. Before Aleksei could react, Spiderman fired an abundance of web shots, at the barrels, blocking the bullets. "They are, after all, friendly neighbours." With that, he fired a web string at the armour's chest, pulling away the central metal piece covering the human pilot. With a loud snap, it gave way, revealing the slightly small body of Aleksei. With a yelp, he was pulled out of the wreckage of his suit by a web string, before being stuck onto the ground. All he could see were Spiderman's bug eyes staring down at him. "You'd better start talking Sykcevich, and you can start by telling me what The Green Goblin's got planned."

"I swear," the Russian started to panic, "I don't know, but I can tell you that all I was told was to distract you. I swear."

"Spiderman!" He quickly turned around to see one of the more experienced officers addressing him. "There's reports of something happening at Times Square. Someone's trying to hack into the screens."

"Thanks for the notice!" With that, ignoring the applause and clapping of the crowds below, he jumped up and fired a web string onto a distant building, before swinging away.

At Times Square, as Spiderman arrived and landed in the centre, all of the once vibrantly bold and colourful advertisements were replaced by the Oscorp logo. Then, suddenly, The Green Goblin's face appeared, laughing manically, showing just how mad he'd become. "Spiderman."

"Osbourne! What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just here to further your _punishment_." Of course, Peter knew exactly what he was talking about: the fact that he didn't give his blood to his dying friend to help save him. Peter knew that it could create something much more dangerous...but Harry didn't. "You have half an hour before I kill your _beloved_ Lucy Falcons. Before I use her body as a weapon to destroy the entire city. But before New York falls, I'll be sure to murder your aunt and burn your family's graves. And when you feel all hope is lost, _I'll kill YOU!_" With that, the screens flickered off, leaving Peter distressed. _I've got to get to Secret Projects in Oscorp. Otherwise Lucy'll die!_

**Thanks to highlander348 and Avitraxia (I think, I can't remember, and if I look Ill be logged out) for the reviews, and also thank you readers for reaching 2000 views in 2 weeks! You're all the best!**


	20. Chapter 20: Hydroman

**Chapter 20: Hydroman**

Peter spent no time thinking up a battle plan, instead firing a web string at a billboard and swinging towards the looming Oscorp tower. _What did Harry mean 'he'll destroy New York'? He doesn't have any sort of nuclear bomb or anything, otherwise someone would know about it. What's his plan?_

In the winding corridors of Secret Projects, The Green Goblin barked orders to his fellow scientists, standing high on his glider. "In a few minutes time you will all leave the department. I must fight Spiderman alone. Understood?!" Scared, they all murmured agreements. "Now then, before you leave, I need a small group of you to activate the Hydroman project."

One of the scientists near the front started to speak with little confidence. "But sir...that project has not been fully tested. We don't know-" Before he could finish The Green Goblin swooped down and grabbed him by the neck. Dangling by his feet, he tried to beg for mercy, but found he couldn't speak. With one swift move, The Green Goblin caused his neck to snap, dropping his lifeless body on the floor.

"Does anyone else wish to speak up?" Immediately everyone set about to do their jobs, hurriedly leaving The Green Goblin to fly away. A group of the scientists darted off into a large laboratory, with a large capsule inside. In the capsule was a man, clothed in only spandex shorts, immersed in water. Below his feet was a closed grate. With the pulling of levers and pushing of buttons, the grate started to open, and the man's body started to disappear into the grate, dissolving into the flow of the water.

Elsewhere, The Green Goblin hovered his way into his lair. The room was lit up slightly with a dim white light, illuminating the room. There were numerous large metal pipes headed off towards the walls, each reflecting some of the light. Where there was space shelves of bombs and knives and other forms of weapons were stacked. In the centre of the room, where the pipes all spread from, was a grey open capsule, where Lucy was strapped in. She wriggled furiously, and unsuccessfully, to try and escape. She shouted out loud once Harry appeared above her. "Let me go! Harry! Let me go!"

Harry swiftly turned and flew straight to her face, snarling "How do you know my _name_?" Before she could answer, The Green Goblin worked it out from her hesitation. "_Peter._ He told you about me?" She hesitated yet again. "He _really_ shouldn't have."

He slowly hovered his way towards a surgeon's table next to her, picking up a sharp needle and a vile of a green substance. "The last time I saw this..." He thought back to the time when everyone he knew- even Peter- had betrayed him, and when he took the venom as a last resort for a cure. He inserted the chemical into the needle, holding it up as he hovered towards Lucy's body.

As she worked out what he was about to do, she started to wriggle more furiously, panicking. "No. Harry, don't do it! Don't put that thing in me! Harry!"

"Relax, child," he held back laughter of a maniac as he spoke calmly, inserting the needle into her right arm, "just relax." As the venom was injected into her, Lucy's body started to shake violently. "Soon, Lucy will be _dead_, and you will sacrifice yourself willingly for me, and for _The Goblin World_!"

Peter was swinging ever closer towards the skyscraper, struggling to keep up the high speed he had started to travel at. _What have you been planning Harry?_ He was now right outside, when his head started to throb. _Spidey sense! I've never felt it so strongly before._ He looked down onto the streets-_everything's fine._ Suddenly, a drain cover on his left burst off as a stream of water fired into the air. This was no ordinary leakage- the water tower was as high up as Spiderman was, and if formed the shape of a large arm and hand. As it went to swipe the bug, Spiderman quickly fired two web strings at the side of an apartment block to his right, propelling himself away from the giant hand. _What the..._ Another drain cover bust below him, revealing another giant arm composed of water. Spiderman quickly jumped to the left, dodging the pillar. He could only stare on as a giant face and torso of water crashed his way through the concrete road. "And what on earth are _you_ supposed to be?" But he didn't talk. Like a brute, he punched a hole in the building, Spiderman narrowly dodging and landing on the floor.

Before either super powered people could attack, they were interrupted by a passerby. "SPIDERMAN!" Peter quickly turned around, recognising the passerby as Suzanne. "Listen to me-"

"Sorry," he interrupted, trying to keep his two personas away from one another, "but who are you again? I remember your face-"

"Don't lie to me, Peter. Once he found out Lucy was in trouble, Oliver came and told me who you were."

Dumbfounded, Peter could only stare on as Suzanne gave him a stern glare. "_What?!_"

"It's fine, we'll talk about that later. Right now, you need to save Lucy." Before she could finish, Spiderman sensed the large fist plummeting down to where they were. In response, Peter quickly jumped to the side, pulling her with him. "Peter, _can_ you do it?"

After a hesitation, he responded. "I can, but what about this _water guy_? I need to keep these people safe too."

"I think I can help with that." Shocked, Spiderman turned around to see Electro standing in front of him, his electric voice setting his hairs on end.

"_Electro?_"

"Just answer me this, Spiderman. Did I-_Electro_, did Electro escape 10 months ago?" Spiderman could sense the villain's sadness. He couldn't help but hesitate, which acted as an answer to him. "I thought so." With that, he fired a bolt of electricity directly at the Hydroman's chest, which caused a large amount of pain as visible by his huge face. Holding his position, he spoke to Spiderman. "Spiderman, GO! Stop The Green Goblin!"

With that, he swung past the giant being, towards Oscorp's front doors. When inside, he saw a large hole leading to an underground section of the building. _Okay, let's hope this is the cliché of hiding places for a secret lair._ He jumped down into the hole, landing in a crouched position. _Ok then. Where are you guys? _He started to sprint his way through the corridors, reading the odd sign here and there. Some of the signs intrigued him, such as the 'Mechanical Octopus Arms' and the 'Sound Gauntlets'. _Did every supervillan I fought in the past come from here?_ Suddenly, he heard a quiet, weak voice on the distance.

"Peter."

_Lucy!_ He followed his ears towards a large, circular room with a white light and metal walls. All around him were either shelves of weapons or large metal pipes. And in the centre lied Lucy. Her skin was slowly turning a sickly green, as were her veins and eyes. Peter started to panic. "Lucy! Oh my God! Please tell me what's happening."

"Be...hind...you." He didn't hear her warning, for his Spider senses enveloped his head. _Harry._

**So I'm reaching the end of this section of this story, with a few hopes and ideas for the next section. Thanks for all the popularity :) (SPOILERS for anyone who doesn't want to know them):**

**Just a reminder, SPOILERS. Ready?**

**1. Beginning of The Sinister Six**

**2. Mephisto bringing Gwen back to life**

**3. Lucy turning into a hero- and then a villain**


	21. Chapter 21: My Enemy and My Friend

**Chapter 21: My Friend and My Enemy**

Peter tried to turn quickly and react, but before he could Harry grabbed his body, using his glider to push him into one of the metal walls. A large dent was forming where Peter's body was being crushed. "_Peter_!" He started manically laughing, as if to mock his once-friend. "I would've hoped that Kraven _killed_ you when he shot Lucy." He grinned. "I guess he was leaving me a present."

"Harry!" Peter knew his friend was deep inside of the villain, and he knew he couldn't give up on him. "Just calm down! Tell me what you're doing to Lucy!"

He started to laugh hysterically, out of control. Peter saw this as his opportunity. With a swift kick in the stomach, The Green Goblin floated backwards in pain clasping his tummy, allowing Spiderman to jump up onto his back. He fired a small web string, using it as a rope to strangle him to the opposite wall face first. "Harry, tell me what you did!" Peter started to loose his patience in his anger and confusion.

"Her blood is boiling with _my_ venom." He started to grin evilly. "Lucy will die, and turn into my Green Gobliness." He started to giggle menacingly, riling Spiderman up.

"How could you be like this?! You were my _friend_!" Peter couldn't help but think that, every time they fight, Harry fades slightly more in The Green Goblin's shadow.

"How could _you_ abandon _me_ when _I needed you_?!" With his anger growing, Harry shoved his elbow into Spider-Man's rib cage, causing the hero to retreat upwards, firing a web string to keep him in the air. The Green Goblin turned around, still hovering on his glider. "It's time for you to _die_, Spiderman!" He quickly lunged towards the red and blue body hanging on by a spiderweb, zipping past as Peter used his Spidey sense to dodge his attack. Before Harry could have another go, Spiderman fired multiple web strings that attached themselves to the walls, creating a sort of web maze that was almost impossible for The Green Goblin to manoeuvre around. However, this maze acted as Spiderman's playground, which was evident when he swung around using multiple strings put in place. He could see Harry struggling to move from his spot. "OK Harry," he jokily said, "you stay here." As Spiderman landed on the ground next to Lucy, he pulled out a dagger and started to cut through the webs.

On the floor, Peter's brain was in overdrive. _So, she's been injected with the spider venom like Harry was. Think, Pete, think. Should I use my blood? Last time I was afraid that Harry would turn into another lizard...or worse... Wait! Last time, he wanted my blood before the venom was used, and I was afraid his illness would cause a mutation. And if the same spiders bit me...It could work if I gave her my blood._ Peter turned desperate as he saw her skin turn greener and greener. He quickly held the needle to his arm, injecting himself, seeing his mutated blood seep into the vile. Once it was full, he held it upright, ready to cure Lucy.

_Spidey sense!_

He only just managed to web shot the needle safely into the nearby operating table before Harry swooped in and tackled him to the floor. The glider pushed them both towards the wall, Spiderman feeling his back burn after being dragged along the floor. Pinned to the wall, he ducked his head left and right, narrowly missing the punches Harry threw with his right arm. Seeing that he wasn't reaching any conclusion, The Green Goblin pulled out his dagger. "Die, _Parker_, Die!"

Outside, Electro was still firing his electricity at Hydroman's chest, causing howls of pain and water to fire out of his mouth. Eventually the water started to collapse, forming an almost naked body on the floor. Before anyone could secure the man, Electro grabbed the body, flying into the sky. Once out of sight, he activated a machine in his ear. "Mr Octavius," his electric voice now slightly more sinister, "I've found another possible candidate."

"We don't need anymore now," a garbled voice replied, "so just leave him." With that, Electro released him, allowing him to free fall into an alleyway.

_I need to get to Lucy quickly._ He desperately searched for something to keep Harry occupied, and away from his face with the dagger in his hand. He noticed a shelf of Oscorp bombs..._Let's see if you enjoy a taste of your own medicine._ With a quick web string fired at the shelf, he yanked a bomb directly towards where both men were standing. The beeping enveloped the room, going faster and faster, until a huge explosion rattled Harry, causing a few cuts and bruises on both men's faces. Harry's grip on the hero loosened, allowing him to crawl away on the floor towards where he had left the needle. Whilst Harry was dazed, Peter grabbed the needle and injected the blood into her arm. He could already see that her colour started to come back. She's gonna be fine. He let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Harry regained his posture, using his glider to charge at breathtaking speed, fist in the air aiming at Spiderman. Sensing this, he quickly fired two web strings at the clasps holding Lucy down before jumping into the air. He rose above Harry's head, causing him to crash into the wall. As he did, he pulled on the two strings, breaking off the clasps. As soon as he landed, Lucy rushed over to him, now fully recovered. "Peter! Are you-"

"Lucy," he interrupted, "get out of here! _Now_!" Before she could run, Spiderman sensed the bomb Harry threw their direction. Peter knew there wouldn't be enough time for Lucy to escape. He quickly turned to her. "Get down on the ground! Quickly!" She curled up on the metal surface, unaware that Peter selflessly completely enveloped her body in his, protecting her from the flames. The back of his suit started to burn, followed by the exposed skin. Peter grinder his teeth, holding in screams of pain.

The explosion only lasted a few seconds. Once out of danger, Spiderman pulled away from Lucy, standing up to breath heavily. Lucy Rose to her knees, turning to Peter. "You still OK?"

"I've had better days." he admitted jokily. Before they could take a second to giggle, another bomb became visible in the smoke that had started to part. In response, Peter fired a web string, swinging the bomb away, releasing it in the direction it came from. Seconds later, another explosion lit up the room, propelling Harry's limb body into the wall. He was weak, but could still see Peter stare him down with his unblinking bug eyes.

CLAP CLAP CLAP

Everyone's heads turned at the sound, finding a middle aged man with black hair riding another glider, wearing another armour suit. Exactly like The Green Goblin does. Peter and Lucy's faces were one of utter shock, whereas Harry's carried pure dread. For the first time since his transformation, Peter saw Harry scared. Genuinely scared. With valid reason, of course- _he should be dead. How is he here?_

Harry was the only one who spoke, letting out a little whimper. "_Dad?_"

**Dun Dun Dunnnn! And if you liked this suprise, wait 'till you see what I've got in store in the future (some next chapter)**

**Also, guys, can I ****_please_**** have more of you reviewing? Thanks to highlander348 for your reviews since Chapter 13, as well as your ideas for some of the story. You're the best ! :)**


	22. Chapter 22: Osbourne Returns

**Chapter 22: Osbourne Returns**

_Norman Osbourne?!_ Everyone, even Peter, froze in place, staring at the reincarnated man floating in front of them. _You're supposed to be dead!_

"What a _disappointment_ you've been, Harry." He spoke with a gravely voice. Peter could tell he wasn't crazy like his son was- this man was pure evil. "With all your _money_ and _strength_, you couldn't get rid of one itsy-bitsy spider." He started to tut, turning his game towards Peter and Lucy. "And as for you, _Peter_, you've been a thorn in the rose for far too long now."

Harry, still in fear, whimpered a little louder. "But you're _dead_. You _died_."

"Indeed I did son." He started to quietly laugh, mocking his child. He suddenly raised his arm, ripping off a huge chunk of his skin. Peter, Lucy turned away, expecting blood, but Harry stared on. Instead of blood and veins, however it revealed a set of wires and tubes.

"You're a _robot_?!" Peter couldn't help but giggle slightly. "Does that mean you can't _shower_?"

Ignoring Peter's one-liner, he began to digress. "It's not a 'robot', it's a Life Model Decoy, or LMD. It has saved my memories and characteristics, enough so that it can calculate my every decision, as if I were alive." He started to smile wickedly. "Y'know Peter, I could do the same for _you_. Your parents." Peter could feel his heart and stomach turn at Osbourne mentioned his parents, the people who he killed. "Your uncle." A lump formed in his throat as he held back his anger.

"And Gwen."

He lost it.

With one jump, he tackled Norman into the wall, dealing him a swift yet hard fist to his stomach. As he went to punch him again, he could sense Harry throwing a bomb at Spiderman. Whether or not he wanted to kill his father either was a mystery. He quickly turned around, firing a web string at the orange ball flying towards him. He swung the bomb upwards, releasing it to explode in the air. The bomb caused one of the pipes to break down, the metal pieces falling down, Lucy underneath them. She was intently watching the fight, but felt a small pain in her head. She heard herself think: _Jump._ She quickly did, landing right near the wall, the metal pieces causing a loud bang as they touched the ground. _How did I jump that far? It's at least ten metres from the centre of the room. How..._

Spiderman had lost his grip on Norman's body, allowing him to take a swing at the hero's red head. Peter was flung backwards, landing in a crouched position on the floor. Before he could react, he saw Harry back on his glider, charging straight for Norman. His heightened senses could detect the first minuscule movements of the blade extending from the front of the glider. _He'll kill him! I can't let that happen. Despite the fact he's a robot, he still has a life._ Firing two web strings at Harry's back, he managed to keep the crazed Osbourne away from killing his father. As Harry struggled to fly forwards, Spiderman pulled him with greater strength. The only thing keeping Peter in place was his ability to stick onto any surface. Norman seized the opportunity, but as he started to move, Spiderman fired web shots at his wrists, sticking them to the wall. But Norman was calm. He released a bomb at the web head, which Peter quickly diverted upwards with a web shot. The explosion caused a large chunk of pipe to roll onto the wall towards Peter. _I can't stop it. Not without letting Harry kill Norman. I can't let that happen._ Peter was ready to take the blow...

But he didn't.

He quickly whipped his head around to see Lucy standing behind him, arms stretched out, holding back the giant metal pipe, creating cracks in the metal. _How is she doing that? It must weigh, like, 10 tonnes. _He couldn't believe what he was seeing: _How is Lucy that strong?_ "Lucy, what's happening? How are you-"

"_I don't know_!" Her voice was full of fear, but also slightly angry at her circumstances. She was angry at Harry. She was slightly angry at Peter. But most of all, she was angry with Norman Osbourne. _He's been controlling everything, even Harry. He'll pay for what he's been doing. To Peter and me. _Once the pipe had settled, Lucy slowly made her way to the Osbournes. Before Harry could protest she delivered a single punch to the head, knocking him out. She then turned to Norman, who despite his confidence he showed earlier, started to fear for himself. With a swift movement, she gripped his neck in anger, lifting him off his glider into the air. She was so consumed by anger she didn't even hear Peter's urges to let Norman go. "You _monster_." Norman just laughed uncontrollably at this, but she took little notice. "Why were you after me?"

Norman had to stop laughing before he could answer. "Dear little Lucy. Didn't you ever wonder about your foster parents? Why they _left_ you? Who they _were_?"

"Don't try to avoid the question, Osbourne."

He let out a triumphant, almost dignified sigh. "I only ever needed _one_ heir to Oscorp. This caused a problem when my partner had _twins_, and so... I got rid of one. Of course, I couldn't convince your mother to agree so I had her..._removed_ too."

She froze in disbelief. "_What?_"

Proudly, yet menacingly, he stated exactly what she didn't want to hear: "You're an Osbourne, Lucy. My blood is in you." Suddenly, she felt like all of the energy she had just received was gone, along with all of her other energy too. She released Norman, now staring into the distance, thinking about everything she had just found out. _Norman's my father? Harry's my brother?_ She started to hear a voice telling her to move away quickly, but it was completely shadowed by her thoughts on her newly-found family. She didn't even pay attention when Norman charged towards her on his glider, blade at the ready to kill her. Peter went to jump into the line of fire, willing to take a blade through the chest.

But it was Harry that reached her first.

He stood in front of her, arms and legs extended out, the blade travelling straight through his stomach, stained in blood. He didn't scream or shout or cry. He just sighed. It wasn't even a sigh of pain, but a sigh of relief. As if to say 'everything is over'. As he collapsed onto the floor, his sister reached out to grab him, speaking soft words of comfort to see him off from life. Norman retreated from the scene as Spiderman tried to make him pay for stabbing his friend in cold blood. As Norman disappeared from view, Spiderman shouted out, labelling him a coward. Once he finished, he jumped down beside his friend, ripping off his mask. "Harry." He whispered to his friend as his breathing grew faster. "It'll be okay."

"Peter..." he whimpered, "I'm...sorry...about...Gwen." His head slumped as his eyes closed, knowing he had been forgiven by family and friends. Harry was gone. Peter started to cry, his tears slowly trickling down his face. Lucy placed her head on his scarred shoulder. However sad Peter was his long time friend was gone, he was almost relieved. _That's it. It's over...for now._

Two weeks later...

Harry didn't have a big ceremony- he didn't have many friends due to his alter ego and his raising up to become the director of Oscorp. The only people there for the burial was Lucy and her family, and Peter and May. His tombstone stood up from the short green grass, saying:

**Harry Osbourne**

**1995-2014**

**He gave his life so that others could live**

May, Suzanne and Oliver left Peter and Lucy on their own, in each other's comfort, to mourn separately. As it turned out, they were the closest people to family he had. They both stood on, remembering what was and imagining what could've been. Eventually Peter spoke up. "Are you okay?" He was holding her close, afraid of losing another person in his life.

"Honestly? _No_." She held on tightly too, for the same reason. "The only biological family I have left is a robot who's evil."

"He's _not_ your family. Don't forget that. Your family- your _real_ family is Suzanne and Oliver." His supporting tone turned serious. "Norman is just a twisted person with money and power in mind. He'll pay for what he did. I'll find him. I _promise_." With that, they embraced in one another, feeling the warmth of each other's touch. For the rest of the day, they stayed in each other's company, one trying to make the other lose focus of recent events, or even get the other to smile or laugh.

But after a while, Lucy had to bring up the obvious elephant in the room. They were both lying on Peter's bed in each other's arms. "Peter, what happened in The Goblin Lair?"

"What do you mean?"

"I jumped something like, I don't know, _10 metres_. I pushed back a ten tonne barrel. That's not exactly normal."

Peter sighed, completely void of energy. "It's probably 'cause I injected you with my blood. This is probably one of the side effects. I'll teach you how to hide them-"

"Peter, I wanna help."

"You _can't_." He didn't want to lose Lucy, and he could see that happening if she helped him fight crime. "If you do, and you die, I'll never be able to forgive myself. _Please_ don't try to help me." Lucy let it go, but knew she would try again. She couldn't wait around knowing Peter could be dead. She needed to help keep him safe, like he does for everyone else in the town. Peter knew this too- he knew that she would be persistent. But for now, he was too tired to care. He was too tired. All he could do now was grieve.

Elsewhere, deep underground, Otto Octavius spoke to a group of super powered people. One was glowing bright blue, whilst the other wore a purple mechanical suit and purple. One wore a spandex suit as black as her hair, the other was a beastly black man with sharp teeth and a long tounge. The final person in the background was inside a mechanical suit shaped to be a rhino. "Greetings, fellow criminals. We all have something in common in this room. We've all been troubled souls once. We've all experienced heartache and suffering. But there is one thing that binds us together. One man who has embarrassed and humiliated us time and time again: _Spiderman_. But from now on, _we_ will rule this city. _We_ will take Oscorp back from the evil controlling it that is Mr Fiers. _We_ will kill Spiderman and rule the streets of New York."

**Sorry 'bout the late update- this chapter took longer to write. Tell me what you thought about the surprises in this chapter :)**


	23. Chapter 23- Pt 2 Prologue:Unstable Times

**Chapter 23- Part 2 Prologue: Unstable Times**

Two months later...

Peter's room was darkened by the night, the only light source being the moon and the television screen. Peter sat cross-legged on his crumpled bed, wearing his Spiderman costume. He hadn't been able to sleep for weeks now, ever since that terrible night. His camera was plugged into the TV, playing a video of Peter and Lucy at Central Park. It was a sunny day, and they were both lying on the ground, enjoying a homemade picnic. They were smiling and laughing in each other's arms.

But that was then.

Peter envied the person he was one month before. He envied the time he had with Lucy, tears dripping down his face onto the mask he laid down in front of him on the bed. But he knew that he couldn't change the past. Not anymore.

_Everything was perfect back then. But then The Sinister Six formed. Then The Devil gave me a deal I couldn't refuse. Then Norman Osbourne came back. Then...Lucy turned crazy._ This is the story of how Lucy Falcons died.

**Just a quick prologue I whipped up to get you all anticipated for what's to come- enjoy!**


	24. Chapter 24: Moving On

**Chapter 24: Moving On**

One month before...

KNOCK KNOCK

Peter stood patiently outside the Falcons' house, as he did every night he could. If ever he wasn't swinging through the city of New York, saving people as Spiderman, he would find himself in Lucy's company. In the last month they had both become a major part of each other's lives, and not just because of their budding relationship. After finding out about her biological family, the Osbourne's, she acted like a ghost, always fixated on her father's evil and her brother's sacrifice and troubled mind. She worried that she would become like them. At night, she would wake up with sweat and tears flooding her face, calling out for Peter or Suzanne. Once she had calmed down, she would either creep into her mother's bed or phone Peter, who would rush quickly to her side and comfort her. They did have fun sometimes- Peter would try to set up dates and picnics for her as a surprise, as a method to let her forget for a while. But the memories would always return.

The door swung open, revealing Suzanne in a navy blue t-shirt and jeans, as well as a party hat with 'Happy Birthday' written in big bold letters on it. "Hey Pete." She tried to sound as friendly and warm as possible, but that was hard for her. Yes, he had saved both of her children on multiple occasions, he was sweet and kind, and he has treated Lucy perfectly. But there was still a part of her that questioned how safe her family was whenever he was around.

Peter clutched onto the small bag of presents he brought with him, sensing the slight tension between the two. He smiled as sweetly as he could. "Hey Mrs Falcons. Is the birthday girl here?"

"She's just getting changed upstairs." She knew that probably wasn't the case. "Come in, come in."

As he took a few steps indoors, Oliver ran from the kitchen past a banner and bunches of balloons, almost tackling Peter down to the ground. Unlike Suzanne, Oliver didn't see the negatives of Peter being his sister's girlfriend. All he saw was his idol coming to his house almost daily. "Peter!"

"Hey buddy!" He was pleased to see that at least Oliver was genuinely happy to see him. "How you doing, man? How's your new school?"

He shrugged in response, as if to say 'it's fine'. "I drew you saving me from Doctor Octopus."

"_Really?_ Can I see it?" Oliver quickly scooted into his room, dragging Peter with him up the stairs. Whilst Oliver guided him into his room, he caught a glimpse of Lucy's open door. His spider senses slowed down time, allowing him to fully capture the details of the room. Pinned to the wall were newspaper pages of Norman and Harry Osbourne, with all sorts of facts and figures about their lives. Lucy was sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring intently at the paragraphs. Peter remembered the night she had set the wall up. After a night of nightmares, Lucy had called him up. When he had arrived, she had printed off shed loads of information, and had started pinning them onto the wall. Peter didn't complain or moan or disapprove of the idea. He knew that everyone recovered in different ways to different situations, and that this is how she would recover.

Once Oliver had shown him the picture, he departed from Peter's company, headed towards the kitchen where the cake was. This left Peter to see how Lucy was. He gently knocked on the door before slowly opening it. Lucy didn't move or turn around: her omnipresence abilities sensed his presence. Lucy was taught by Peter how to use this handy power only a couple of days after the fight in The Goblin Lair, meaning that by now she was almost an expert. Now she only wished she could hone in her strength and jumping abilities, and use them to help Peter. "Hey Pete." She spoke emotionlessly, half-concentrating on the pages in front of her.

"Lucy. What's wrong?" He could tell she was thinking of the Osbourne's.

She sighed, keeping back a lump in her throat. "I just wish that nothing had happened this way. That they could actually celebrate my birthday without wanting to _kill_ me. Or you."

Peter knelt down to Lucy's level, whispering quietly. "Hey there. Norman made his choice long ago to forget about you. Now you have the chance to forget about him once and for all. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but who would you choose to spend today with? The family that _abandoned_ you, or the one that is downstairs right now?" He ended with one of his irresistible smiles that Lucy couldn't help but smile at.

"You're right." She wrapped her arms around him, enjoying his warmth. "I hate when you are." They both smiled before making their way downstairs.

The birthday celebrations continued without a hitch from then on. The family had a birthday meal consisting of a Chinese takeaway and a huge chocolate cake. Stuffed, they gathered round in the living room as Lucy opened her presents. As she kept her birthday to herself, not many people had given her presents. Both Suzanne and Oliver had pooled together to buy a whole bundle of presents, including plenty of DVDs, CDs and even a MacBook Pro. Peter have his bag of presents given to her last. As she pulled the first gift out, Peter felt something in his back pocket vibrate. He pulled his police radio out, silencing the room with the message: _9-9, we've got hostages in an abandoned warehouse on 56th Avenue. There are at least 7 assailants, all armed._ Peter raised his head to see everyone looking at him, as if he had committed a crime. "I'm not gonna go." he stated, knowing what Suzanne was about to complain about. "I'm gonna stay until this party's over."

"Peter, _go_. Save them." Suzanne have a look of disapproval as Lucy spoke up. "Just make sure to come back."

"You sure you don't mind?"

"I'm sure. Now _go_!"

Peter quickly got up from the chair he sat in, dashing for the door. Just before he let it slam, his head reappeared from behind. "Oh, you see the _small_ present? Can you _not_ open it? I wanna see your face when you do." Without waiting for a reply, he jumped out of view.

As he did, Suzanne turned to Lucy. "I don't understand how you _don't_ want to kill him right now."

"Oh I _do_," she replied, "but sometimes that's how you feel with someone you..." She trailed off, very wary she almost said 'the 'l' word'.

Somewhere in the mists of New York, Spiderman quickly flew through the air faster than the traffic below, trying to be as quick as possible so that he could return to the party. White each swing he sped up, creating a red and blue blur in the skyline. _Faster faster faster. 54th, 55th... Here we are._ He quickly released his grip of a web string, landing on the top of a worn down warehouse covered with vines and moss. He could make out the three hostages being dragged against their will through the cracks and gaps in the glass roof. _Let's see what you're up to._ He crawled along the rooftop at the same speed as the criminals below, stopping when they stopped. Eventually, right in the centre of the building, the hostages were tied to individual chairs, and encircled by six large men in black. From the distance, Spiderman could hear the footsteps of the ringleader. He was surprised to see she was dressed in a white top hat and a dark blue jacket, and even more so to see her face decorated like a rabbits. _That...white rabbit really is a mad hatter. _


	25. Chapter 25: Birthday Gifts

**Chapter 25: Birthday Gift**

_I can't get a closer look of what's happening- otherwise I'll compromise the safety of the hostages. Why did they need to bring hostages? It would've been much easier without them._ Spiderman watched as the woman circled them, clutching onto what seemed to be a white umbrella. Finally, just when Peter was bored, he heard a loud, slightly high-pitched voice scream out in anger "I'M NOT CRAZY!" _Riiiiight, he thought, that explains the costume choice._ He couldn't sit around for much longer- _if she's crazy, who knows when she'll kill them?_ His head moved from side to side, hoping to find an open door. He found one to his left, jumping off the rooftop and web swinging through the doors silently. _Time to try out a little stealth._

"What do you _want_ from us?" one of the hostages demanded to know, hiding his fear of the crime boss. Beside him were two woman in the same predicament as himself.

The girl suddenly stopped circling the trio in front of the man who spoke. "You _lovely_ doctors are gonna prove I'm sane." She then gave a smile proving she was anything but sane.

In disbelief, the female doctor exclaimed "_What?!_"

"You do realise that _kidnapping_ us does exactly scream 'sane', don't you?"

"SHUT UP!" With this remark, the girl pointed her umbrella in the air, and to everyone's surprise, fired a small missile at the roof to silence the hostages. She then turned calm again. "If you comply, we'll hold you to ransom for...oooh..._5 million_ dollars? Yes, that's a fair amount. And if you _don't_..." She pointed the umbrella's nuzzle directly at the man's head, finishing her sentence. "Have I answered your question, _doc_?" He nodded silently, his sweat evident on his forehead. Outside, a large blare of sirens lit the room red and blue. The ringleader turned to two of her men. "You two, tell them to _shut up_." The two men quickly dashed towards the open windows, dodging the odd piece of scraps littered on the floor. But before they could shout out to the police forces grouping outside, both felt a sticky string from the roof attach onto their hoods. Suddenly, one after the other, they were pulled up with great force into the shadows above, being suspended on the roof. The last thing they both saw before passing out were two bug eyes staring at them.

_That's two of them down. 5 to go._ With that, Spiderman crawled towards the area above where the hostages were. Below him, the woman grew more and more annoyed, both at the sirens and her men's failure to stop them. She quickly turned to another thug, this time speaking much more angrily. "Find the other two and bring them here! And turn off that racket outside!"

"Yes, White Rabbit." As he rushed off into the shadows towards the windows, he felt a whole net of webs trapping him on the ground, swiftly followed by a small web shot to the mouth. _4 more to go._ After a while White Rabbit grew much more worried that there was someone else at play here. "Boys. Fan out! I want every nook and cranny checked. Find the others!" Weapons at the ready, the three remaining men spread out amongst the large room. _Perfect_. The web head scuttled his way towards the most nervous of the group, who had veered off towards a dark corner. Spiderman used a web string to slowly lower himself down, before jokily tiptoeing towards him. When he was directly behind him, he let out a quiet "Shhh." before sticking him to the wall with a web net. Before anyone saw him, he jumped up onto the roof again. _Three left._ He could hear one of the thugs cautiously scanning where he had just been been standing, speeding to the wall when he saw his colleague stuck to the wall. Before he could warn them, he felt himself being dragged by two strong hands up to the ceiling. He could feel the webbing surrounding him, preventing him from falling. This has gotta be a personal best. _Only two people left._ He chuckled to himself as he mad his way towards the last henchman, who shook at the fact that he was very much alone. He was afraid of what could be in the shadows...particularly the ones on the wall behind him... A sudden turn and torchlight revealed...nothing. He sighed in relief, but didn't anticipate the swift kick on the back sending him flying straight into the wall. Before he could retaliate, he felt multiple sharp pains where Spiderman fired many web shots at his body to keep him in place. Before disappearing into the shadows, he whispered to him "Now don't wander off." The thug tried to shout and scream, but the webbing around him mouth prevented him from doing so. _And then it was one._

In the centre of the warehouse, White Rabbit started stamping on the ground with her white boots, irritated by the sirens. "SHUT UP! OR I SHOOT THEM!" she screamed at the open windows, pointing her weapon at the man.

"Wow. You really _do_ act like a spoilt child." The girl quickly turned around to see the iconic red and blue hero emerge from the shadows, firing a web string onto her umbrella. With one tug, she stumbled towards his feet uncontrollably, making it much easier for Spiderman to handcuff her with webbing. At that moment, once the police heard Spiderman was on the scene, they stormed through the double doors, filling the room with shouting. Peter, once securing White Rabbit, made his way to the hostages, untying them from their bonds, keeping them calm as he did. "Don't worry guys, it's all over."

Once they were all freed, the police sergeant approached the web slinger. "Spiderman, what _happened_ here?"

Remembering the party, he replied "I'd love to stay, but I've got a um...a _thing_." As he started to swing away on a web string he created, his heightened senses noticed one of the thugs, now mobile, sneakily pulling out a pistol from his long coat, pointing it at the sergeant. Immediately, Peter rushed in and rugby tackled the policeman just as the shot was fired. As Spiderman pulled him up again, it was apparent that he was okay...and that Spiderman took the bullet. Leaning on a pillar for support, he used his web shooters to create a covering for his wound before swinging off again. Normally, he'd enjoy the vibrancy of the night, all of the bold colours of billboards and signs shown off further. But not this time- instead, all he could focus on was easing the pain he had at the side of his stomach. _Let's hope this trip out's the last one for today._

The Falcons had watched the news footage of the event whilst Peter was gone, relieved to see footage of him swinging away from the scene. Once WWN had stopped reporting, Suzanne sent Oliver to bed (despite his complaints) before starting to wash the dishes. With nothing to do until Peter came back, she started listening to the Passenger CD he had bought her in her room whilst setting up her new MacBook Pro. Lucy couldn't believe he had remembered the CD. On their second date out, she mentioned to him that there was this singer who she had only ever heard of once, and who she had only ever heard one song of. She told him that she absolutely loved the song. "Really? Do you remember how it goes?" She remembered humming the tune to the song, not knowing the words. He shook his head midway through, saying he didn't know. But he must've been lying, thinking about her birthday Suzanne had blurted out that same day to him. Even now she started humming as she worked:

_?Well you only need the light when it's burning low_

_Only miss the sun when it starts to snow_

_Only know your lover when you've let her go_

_Only know you've been high when you're feeling low_

_Only hate the road when you're missing home_

_Only know your lover when you've let her go_

_And you let her go?_

Outside, Peter crashed into the wall of the house, only just managing to stick onto it. His breathing was fast and hard as the pain of his gun wound only worsened whenever he swung through the city. Luckily, he doesn't have to knock on the window anymore- Lucy can sense whenever he's waiting for her to open the window. The big smile she carried disappeared when she saw Peter clutch his side. Knowing he needed help, she used her super strength to pull him up and over the window ledge onto the floor, where he slowly scuttled towards the bed to lean on it. "Peter! What _happened_?!"

"Oh, nothing much," he joked, pulling off his mask, "one of the thugs tried to shoot a cop."

"And he _missed_?"

"No actually he had a good aim. Would've hit if I hadn't got in the way." He started to laugh quietly, causing Lucy to frown slightly.

"You know, you should also be looking out for _yourself_ when you're out there."

Knowing better than to argue with someone on their birthday (let alone someone as stubborn as Lucy), he started to drift the conversation elsewhere. "So, just to check, this is the song, right," he said, noticing the music playing, "'cause it _was_ difficult to tell."

"What do you mean?" At this, Peter started mimicking a moose call, trying to hold back both laughter and pain. It was Lucy's laugh that set Peter off, but he did not expect laughter to hurt this much when you've been shot. He winced, immediately catching Lucy's attention. "We're gonna need the First Aid kit from your room, I think."

"Before we do," he quickly interrupted, "can we just do one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Open the other present?" This was the present Lucy had no idea about. Most of her presents from before had been bought because of 'small' hints she had put in place. But apart from the CD- which wasn't even intended to be a hint- she hadn't told him anything about what she wanted. She didn't even expect to get anything from him. She quickly grabbed the present from her desk, half because she was curious to see what it was, half so that Peter could be patched up quickly. Cross-legged on the floor next to him, she ripped off the light blue wrapping as if she were 10 years younger. Her mind raced as to what it could be, but Peter knew she wouldn't guess what it was. She was surprised to unravel a deep blue, velvet box, the more of it revealed the bigger Peter's cheeky smile got. She slowly opened the box, gasping slightly at what was inside.

The silver necklace glistened in the now-emerging moonlight, even more so from the heart in the centre. The blue sapphire in the centre of the heart shone blocks of blue light across the room- her favourite colour. Peter's smile broadened as she slowly pulled out the necklace. "How do you like it?" He enjoyed her speechlessness at this point, but couldn't wait for her to say something.

"It's _beautiful_." Even now, she could only manage a whisper.

"You want me to put it on?" She silently nodded, staring at the necklace whilst Peter took it from her. Once in Peter's hands, she turned around, pulling her long black hair out of the way so that Peter could clip on the necklace. Her hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as Peter's arms stretched around to her torso, and she could feel her cheeks heat up and turn red. The necklace suited her really well- Peter certainly had taste. She turned back around when he was finished, giving Peter a long and passionate kiss, both of them holding each other in a warm embrace. It was only when Peter started to wince did they release each other. "I think I'd better get the First Aid kit now."

"Yeah, sorry, I forgot 'bout that." They both chuckled a bit, before he jumped out of the window to his house. _I can't believe Peter would do this for me. After all I've put him through, the fact that he's been there for me. She started to smile to herself. Even though I won't admit it to anyone, I can still tell myself the truth. I'm definitely in love with him. _

**Hey guys! How'd you like this chapter of the story? Don't forget to leave reviews and favourite the story if you like it :)**


	26. Chapter 26: Greetings and Warnings

**Chapter 26: Greetings and Warnings**

One month later...

Peter watched the tape over and over again, having not moved from his cross-legged position on the bed, each time forcing out another tear from his red and puffy eyes. His hands grip onto something with a fist. He looks down, opening his hands, to reveal a battered, scarred silver heart necklace with blue sapphire placed in the middle. He still remembers when she told him that blue was her favourite colour the first day she was at college. "It can be used to sum up every emotion."

"How?"

"Well...look at water. That's blue, or at least it is when it reflects the colour blue from the sky. Water can be timid and sad, it can be joyous and happy, and it can be powerful and awe inspiring, all at the same time."

The light from the TV screen reflected off the silver, but not as much so as it did when Lucy first opened it on her birthday, bringing him back into reality. His silent tears turned into sobs as he looked to his left hand, which was still gripping onto something. He couldn't bare to look at it right now. Instead he turned his attention back to the heart. _I can't fix her. I can't fix her heart._

Three weeks before...

_Hope you're ready for your checkup, New York._ It was a late evening, but the light still managed to reach Spiderman from the apartment block he rested off. As he jumped off the ledge, his heightened senses allowed him to feel every beat of his heart and every pulse sent to his brain as he fell closer and closer to the tarmac. _I need to find out more about this White Rabbit. Ever since The Goblin Lair battle, every thug and criminal in the city I've encountered has been armed with the latest weaponry, be it pistols or missiles or snipers. I've seen it all in the past month. Even umbrella weapons. Who would flaunter these weapons? Oscorp? It's possible. Ever since Harry's funeral, Oscorp moved into the shadows, with there being no activity to do with villains of any kind. Maybe they were doing this instead._ He quickly fired a web string at the corner of a building, using it to swing amongst the traffic and wave at the people. He found something irresistible about speeding past the yellow taxicabs, being able to focus on the beauty of the town rather than the technical aspects of swinging. He was having a good time, but after a while he started to yearn for Lucy's company. However thrilling the experience was, he couldn't help but wish he could see Lucy smile and hear her laugh to complete the experience. He then, for the first time, started to doubt his guidelines. _Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I taught her how to use her powers... She could help me out... I'd spend more time with her. He could see her laugh and smile, all whilst enjoying the thrills of being Spiderman..._ He immediately started to shake his head. _No! I can't. However much I want her to be here, I can't risk her life like I did with Gwen._

His head started to thump. _Spider senses!_ He turned his head quickly, firing a web string to pull himself up from the traffic. He caught a glimpse of the crime in progress- two thugs wearing hoods and balaclavas were robbing a woman only slightly older than himself. "Gimme all your dosh, or we'll _beat_ you to a _pulp_!" One of the men pulled out a pistol and held it to her blond head. Spiderman identified the weapon as the latest models used by every criminal- _another set of people who've made a deal with someone for highly advanced weapons. Let's see what I can do with this._

He used his webs to charge into the scene, sending the armed criminal flying into the alleyway, the gun falling elsewhere. Before he could stick the second thug to the wall, a small and quick body held his neck down with her high heels. "Time to speak up, _little boy._" she breathed out, moving a wisp of hair away from her face,

"This ain't your scene, pretty lady." the thug replied confidently.

"Felic-" The web head stopped speaking when she swiftly kicked the thug in the stomach. "_Oooooh._ That's gonna hurt in the morning."

Ignoring Spider-Man's childish comments, she continued to interrogate the man. "_Now_ is it my scene?" She was much more bitter the way she spoke, as if he had offended her in some way. Afraid, he nodded rapidly. "Tell me where the guns come from."

"You're looking for the dealer t-"

"I'm sorry!" the man pleaded, as he held back tears of fear. "He never told me his name, but I could see from the conference call he was a large man. He was fat. I'm sorry." Meanwhile, Spiderman mumbled to himself _'Why is everyone interrupting me today?'_ Once the man had finished talking and started to whimper, he fired a web net at him, stopping him from escaping. Felicia had quickly released her grip on him so that she wasn't stuck to the wall either. "So _now_ will you and I talk, or are you gonna-"

"Spiderman." Peter started to mumble to himself again. _'I knew it.'_ "I need you to listen to me."

"_You don't say?_" he added sarcastically.

"There's _something_ coming. For _you_."

He started to lean in slightly, listening intently now. "What do you mean?"

"Did you not ever think of the reputation you've built up in the eyes of the _criminal masterminds_, and the _supervillans_?" She paused so that this information could be taken in. "How long did you think it would be until people started grouping together to _destroy you_?"

Realising what was being said, he spoke quietly to her. "How do _you_ know all this?"

After a long pause, she cautiously spoke. "Let's just say that I've had to hang around with the wrong crowd to survive." With that, she quickly used long claws to climb up the cracks in the wall, disappearing on the rooftops.

Dumbfounded, Peter stared into the dark alleyway, wondering exactly what she meant. _People are grouping together? To get rid of me?_

Across the street, two men stood next to each other behind their bikes, both sharing one iPhone screen. "Is that the target, Fitz?" One of the men spoke in a posh British accent that, although on the surface was emotionless, he still carried a sliver of the sadness from the day his wife and children were killed.

"Yep Shrewman. According to the pictures, that guy is Spiderman- who Fisk wants to be apprehended." The other was from the American countryside, which his voice showed off. He always felt responsible for his partner's sadness, even though he was already forgiven. Taken from his orphanage by Oscorp when he was six, he'd become one of their leading scientists. Little did he know that his work on biochemicals would be used in biological weapons. When the bomb accidentally went off during the public reveal in London... "We can't kill him, though, so sent your gun to stun." Since that day, to move on from the past, they became the most well known investigators for hire in the UK.

"I still don't understand what _crimes_ he's committed."

"Neither do I, but if Fisk's correct, he's the most dangerous man on this _planet_ right now." Their conversation distracted the duo from the fact that Spiderman started to fire a web string and swing away. "He's leaving! _Quick_!" They both dashed onto their bikes, revving the engines as they took off in pursuit. It was Shrewman that made the first move- with Spiderman in his sights, he fired a bullet of electricity at the hero.

_Spider senses!_ He quickly fired two web strings at lampposts above him, using them to catapult himself above the blast. In the air, he twirled around to see who his deadly admirers were. His spider senses slowed time down for Peter, allowing him to catch the details. He saw the man with the gun pointed at him, riding a fast bike, trying to chase him. Behind him was yet another man on a bike, who he presumed was an accomplice.

"Dammit, he's seen us. _This_ is gonna be interesting." Fitz started to shout over the engines of the cars and bikes around them. "SHREWMAN, HOW'D YOU MISS?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Once they both turned around, they were surprised to see that the web slinger had disappeared, almost as if it were magic. "WHERE'D HE GO?!"

As Spiderman landed, he stumbled back slightly to see that the city light and noise was replaced by a deep red flat of land and silence. It almost felt weird to Peter- having grown up around the sound, it was a shock to suddenly have nothing to fill his ears. As he listened carefully, he realised that he couldn't even hear a breeze. His head had never hurt him as much as he did now, his spider senses going haywire. _Where am I?_

"**Hello, Spiderman.**"

Peter quickly turned around to see the red figure in front of him. His skin was smooth and red, as well as his head and facial hair. He wore a red robe-like cover to dignify himself, and carried a red trident in his right hand. Even his eyes were a bright red. Peter didn't trust him at all. "Who are you?"

"**Your planet's cultures have many names for me: Satan, The Devil. But my real name... is Mephisto. But for your sake, I'll allow you to call me The Devil.**"

**Yep, I'm playing one of my wild cards- The Devil! And he's got something interesting to say... You know what to do :)**

**Also, thank you all for the reviews, particularly Diana- I'll try to slow some of the storyline down from time to time. Thanks for the advice :)**


	27. Chapter 27: A Deal With The Devil

**Chapter 27: A Deal With The Devil**

As Peter turned to run, he was stopped by the realisation that Mephisto was in front of him. As he turned the other direction to run, he was there again. "You can _teleport_?! _Man_, I'm jealous."

"**I can do so much more than that, ****_Peter Parker_****.**" Peter looked up to see that The Devil now spoke from above, as he slowly levitated himself towards the ground.

"Like what?"

"**Like this.**" Peter stumbled back as his body started to morph into someone else's. Patches of human skin began to form, replacing the red with a slightly pale skin colour. Peter couldn't believe the face that started to form- _He's dead. How is he..._ Peter stared on as the long red hair turned curly and short and white. His face started to gain small wrinkles. He started to smile friendly. "Hello Peter."

Shocked, Peter slowly and cautiously approached the figure who stood before him. "Uncle Ben?" He held back tears as he spoke.

"I know you think it's me," he replied calmly, "but it's only..._half_ me. Mephisto's using my old conscience to gain your trust." Peter's head drooped when he explained. "I've still got all of my old memories and stuff, though." Ben's smile never quivered, which started to freak Peter out slightly- Ben never had such a monotonous smile when he was alive.

After a long pause, Peter started to tick off his long list of questions. "Why am I here? I'm not _dead_, that weird electric bullet missed."

Mephisto sighed, reverting back to his true form before speaking. "**Throughout time, people have passed down the myth that I look for moments to change for the worse to feed on. They are wrong. The changes do not need to create a worse future for me.**"

"Then _why_ change it for worse?"

"**It provides a better...sustenance for me. One which eradicates my hunger for millennia.**" The Devil kept his composure as he was interrogated.

"It _still_ doesn't explain why I am here."

"**There is a moment...**" He spoke slowly so that Peter understood, "**one which can feed me for at least 10 millennia...one which I can create as well as keep the paradox from destroying the planet.**"

"You know, I don't need the _nostalgic_ aspect of this, just tell me why I'm here."

Mephisto paused again, not willing to give away all of his secrets, but knowing he would have to in order to have Spiderman cooperate. "**The only way it can be initiated is if someone makes a deal with me. Gives me permission. And I need yours, Peter.**"

"To do _what_?"

And then The Devil said the words Peter could only dream of hearing. The words that would haunt him sometimes. "**To bring Gwen back to life.**" The hero froze, emotions of all manner spiralling through his brain. _He can bring Gwen back? Oh my God, he can bring her back! He can bring back the woman I loved. She didn't have to die that night! What sort of life would she have? Could she be normal? What about us? We were together, and now I'm with Lucy... Even if we don't get back together, I can still save her. _His legs felt like jelly by now, but he still had enough emotional energy to stand and reply. Old memories of him and Gwen started to be lifted out of the dust as they circulated his head. He remembered the first time they had spoken in high school after Flash had just punched him. He remembered the first kiss they had on the rooftop of her apartment, just after he showed her he was Spiderman. He remembered when she'd told him she was going to Oxford University, and also when he said he'd follow her wherever she went. And he remembered the moment when she fell. He couldn't ever forget, especially since his spider sense slowed down time, allowing him to see the dreadful moment for what felt like hours.

"Do it."

"**Are you sure?**"

"As long as she has a good life, a _normal_ life...do it." With this, Peter suddenly felt a surge of energy pulsate through his veins, as his red and bleak surroundings suddenly turned white. The Devil had disappeared from view too. Soon, as the energy became unbearable to hold, he squinted his eyes shut and started to scream...

He immediately turned back around. Spiderman quickly opened his eyes to find himself back where he was before- up in the air above the New York traffic below, with two bike riders opening fire at him. Thinking quickly, he turned back around, fired a web string at a tall apartment block, and web scrambled his way up the string to the rooftop. Shocked at their target's magical disappearance and reappearance, the duo missed their opportunity to open fire.

Spiderman also got a shock when he found Mephisto waiting patiently for him. His smile was now a much more serious expression. "**I'm afraid that this is a 'good news bad news' situation. That ****_is_**** what you people call it now-**"

"What is it? Did it work?"

"**She is alive again. But...**"

"Is she _safe_?"

"**I'm sorry, I can't control ****_where_**** she ends up. She's at Oscorp.**" Under the mask, Peter's eyes widened in horror. He didn't speak or scream or sigh. All he could think of doing was immediately swing with great force above the road, headed towards the Oscorp tower. I need to get Gwen out of there. _If Norman finds her... If he harms her now, I don't think that both of us will walk away. _On the rooftop, The Devil let out a little smirk, before clicking his fingers and disappearing.

As Spiderman swung into the distance, he caught Shrewman and Fitz's attention. "FITZ, THAT'S HIM!" In response, Fitz pulled out small metal marbles from his hoodie pockets, and threw them into the air. But instead of falling down again, they floated in the air, and flew past the different cars in search of the web head. Shrewman pulled out his mobile, which showed multiple camera feeds.

_Where...where am I? _Gwen slowly started to rise up from the metal floor, surrounded by rubble and shards of metal. As she did she noticed that her turquoise coat and purple dress was torn in places. Her memory of how this was such was hazy. All she could remember was the sensation of falling. _Where's Peter? He'd just defeated Max..._ She stopped her thoughts and turned when she could hear the faint whirring noise of machinery approached. "Who is that? Hello?" Her head started to pound in pain as The Green Goblin flew around the room, as if to scare her. His evil yet composed laughter echoed in the room, sending shivers down Gwen's spine. "Who are you?!" she demanded. The figure lowered himself down to her level, menacingly grinning at the impossibility of her survival.

"Hello Miss Stacy." Gwen gasped at the sight of the familiar- no, infamous- face. "I guess that we are the only two people in the world to return to the land of the _living_."

Stumbling a few steps back, she regained her confidence and started to address him. "Norman Osbourne? But you're _dead_."

"And so, my dear, are _you_."


	28. Chapter 28: Miracles

**Chapter 28: Miracles**

"_What?!_ I'm not _dead_!" Gwen was taken aback by what Norman had told her.

Calmly, he responded "Calm down, child. You're in denial. Soon, you'll understand what has happened to you." Gwen ignored his comments, instead fixated on the fact that she was dead. _I can't have been dead, right? I was with Peter..._ She noticed the logo on the side of the door: Oscorp. _I'm in New York? Why aren't I at Oxford?_ "The _main_ question," Norman continued, interrupting her thought process, "is _how_ you're alive. If someone is stealing my work..." Suddenly, he flew towards Gwen, whose feet were firmly planted to the ground in shock. She winced at the sharp pain down her right arm, discovering the blood dripping out when she pulled down her sleeve. Norman, meanwhile, held his bare hand out, revealing a smear of blood, before licking it wi his long tongue. He smiled and chuckled menacingly. "It's blood. There's no machinery at all. And so _how_-" He stopped mid-sentence, and like Gwen stared with both eyes wide open when, magically, started to heal itself. In seconds the wound was nonexistent. "How did you do _that_?"

Staring at her arm, she bluntly replied "I don't know."

"Don't lie to me, child! _Tell me!_"

"I don't know, really!"

Outside the Oscorp tower, Spiderman swung his way to the glass walls covered by the metal hexagons, sticking firmly onto the material. _I need to get into the building somehow. The ventilation shaft!_ He fired two web strings at the roof, using them as a slingshot to propel himself up in the air. Once above the rooftop, he fired his web string at the ventilation shaft opening, using the string to pull himself towards the ground in a crouched position. He quickly then pulled off the cover with the same string, crawling into the narrow rectangular tube. _I've always wanted to try this._ Unbeknownst to him, a small metal ball floated behind him, following him down the tube.

The Green Goblin, angered at the sight of the impossibility that is Gwen Stacy, lashed out. He landed a punch straight into her cheekbone, causing it to shatter along with one of her teeth. She stumbled back onto the floor. However, yet again, she healed herself. Her front tooth started to grow back again, and her cheek started to repair itself at breathtaking speed. After a few seconds she prodded her cheek to find there was no pain at all. _How am I doing this? Is it something to do with my apparent 'death'?_ Norman, on the other hand, grew much angrier. He whipped out a small dagger from his suit before charging at Gwen as she tried to get up. She yelped in pain as the sharp metal point inserted itself deep into her arm, causing a fountain of warm red blood to burst out. As she collapsed to the floor in pain, the dagger started to fall out when the wound closed up. It became a vicious cycle- Norman attacked Gwen, Gwen repaired herself, and then Norman was more inclined to attack again. Despite what weapon he used- daggers, guns, bombs, or even his bare fists and legs- Gwen would repair herself. Eventually Norman grew tired of such a game. It turned into a stare-off between him and Gwen, whose clothes were battered and torn. "Just _die_, you freak!" He went to charge one last time, extending out his glider's blade.

Spiderman scrambled desperately down the ventilation shaft, constantly searching for different covers that could show him where he was. Judging by how long he spent travelling down the tower, he assumed either one of two things- either he is on the ground floor, or he is in Secret Projects. He remembered the last time he was down here, the last time he ever fought Harry before his death. As he snapped out of his daydream of the moment Norman's blade passed through Harry's chest, he noticed the grate in front of him, the white light shining through the gaps. His head started to pound softly, alerting him of something bad below. His eyes behind his mask began to widen as he came across the same scene as he had just remembered, except this time with Gwen as the victim.

Shrewman and Fitz pulled their bikes up along the road opposite Oscorp. Shrewman continued to stare at his phone screen, whilst Fitz pulled out a crossbow from behind the back of his hood. He then pulled out an arrow from his waistband, aiming it at the top of the tower. The arrow made contact, creating a rope leading to the roof edge. Fitz men soon started to climb up the rope rapidly whilst Shrewman made his way through the front doors, guns at the ready.

Gwen's body started to fall to the ground, shaking in absolute shock and pain. Despite this, she could still feel her body heal, her stomach close up, and her skin reform. Peter, however, didn't know of the power she had required. The idea of her being dead again made him sick in the stomach. Furious, he pulled out the grate from its place, breaking off the nails that held it in place, before jumping head first into the room. The pain she was going through couldn't hold back the smile she wore when she saw the friendly but eyes and red mask. Norman's shock meant that Spiderman could web strike him instantly, sending him crashing into the wall opposite the room. Having sent him into a daze, Peter rushed to Gwen's aid, panicking at the sight. "Gwen, speak to me, are you okay?"

By now her wound had completely disappeared from her body. "I'm fine." She sounded much more concerned than relieved. "What _happened_ to me, Peter?" She tried to hold back tears unsuccessfully. "The last thing I know, we're going to England. But then I find out I died. By a _dead man_. _Please_ tell me Peter."

Before he could respond, he could sense Norman regaining his posture and begin to charge. Whispering, he responded "Stay down."

"Wh-"

Before she could continue, Peter jumped up from the crouched position he was in, using another web strike to retaliate against the oncoming charge. As The Green Goblin flew into the wall, Spiderman held onto his wrists tightly, keeping the villain in place. Before Norman could fire a bomb at the web head, his hand was quickly stuck by webbing onto the wall. The explosion rattled the metal walls, as well as destroying his robotic right hand. "Listen to me, _Osbourne_. You can hurt me all you like. But if you even lay a _finger_ on any of my friends and family again...you may not be as lucky to just lose a hand. _Understood?_"

The Goblin started to laugh menacingly. "So _here_ he is. The _Angry_ Spiderman. I always wanted to know what you'd be like when things got _serious_, when the people you love are endangered." Spiderman went to punch his head, but he quickly dodged the attack. "_Now_," he continued, now more seriously, "we shall see whether the Angry Spider will do what the Old Spider could not. Can you do what the disease couldn't and _kill me_?"

**What do you think- will he do it?! Stay tuned to find out :) You know what to do.**


	29. Chapter 29: Deep Down

**Chapter 29: Deep Down**

"Go on, Peter. One clear punch, right on the forehead. With _your_ strength I'll go down like a lamb." He firmly shut his eyes and raised his head, as if praying to God. "I am ready to die. Do it." Taken aback, Spiderman didn't notice the quick glances he threw at the flickering red light on the wall. _Perfect. The transmission's still running. My domination of New York will start with the city's hatred for the wall crawler._

Outside, the electronic billboards lit the street up with the image of Spiderman pinning The Green Goblin against the wall. Every passerby stood still with their mouths wide open, whispering amongst each other:

"It's Norman Osbourne."

"I thought his son was The Green Goblin."

"Is Spiderman gonna kill him?"

Peter was frozen in place, in a constant state of conflict. One side of him was adamant not to take a life. He had a responsibility to stay as an embodiment of hope to the people of New York, and also to remain as a role model. But the other side, the side that started the hunt for his Uncle's killer, the side that hated Norman Osbourne for everything he had orchestrated over the last 15 years, was more than glad to accept his offer. He thought of all the people's lives that were changed forever because of him. His mother and father. Curt Conners. The Vulture. Max Dillon's. Harry's. Gwen's. Lucy's. Even his own. His arm raised up, his fist clenched tightly in front of Norman's wrinkled face. _Just one blow... And then it's all over. All of this city's suffering would be over. It's my responsibility to protect New York, and maybe this is the only way._ His fist oscillated forwards and backwards, readying to deliver a massive blow. Seconds before he did, though, his head started to throb.

_Spidey sense!_

At the doorway, Shrewman had his pistol firmly gripped in his hand, aiming directly at the red spider target on Peter's back. As a shot was fired, Spiderman quickly released Norman from the hold he was in, flipping up into the air. The shot zoomed directly under Peter's mask, piercing Norman's electronic body. It shook viciously as the bullet played havoc with his circuitry, before his head and arms slumped. Spiderman sensed that he wasn't a threat anymore. He turned his attention to the mysterious man that had shot at him. Still upside down in the air, he launched a web shot right at the barrel, preventing him from firing. He landed crouched on the floor, rising straight up again and turning on the spot to face his assassin. "So who are _you_ supposed to be?"

The man shook his gun, almost in disbelief at what his target had managed to do. Regaining his confidence, he looked directly into the bug eyes. "They call me Gunslinger." His posh British accent was interrupted by another blast of pain in Spidey's head. He quickly fired a web string at the wall, pulling himself across the room, dodging the arrow that flew in between his legs. Spiderman watched as another hooded man fell from the ventilation shaft. "And _that_ is Marksmen."

Both men gave long, serious stares at the web head, giving the room an eerie quality that was only interrupted when Gwen rushed to Peter's side. She defensively spread her arms, shielding Peter. "Stop it! Don't you know who _Spiderman_ is?"

"He's a menace that has to be destroyed." Marksman spoke cooly, ignoring Gwen's panicking tone. "At least, according to our employer. Now lady, you need to ge-"

"He's saved New York several times! The only reason we're not all lizards or in the darkness is because of him! Jeez, assassins don't do their homework anymore!" Her voice conveyed her panic as Marksman kept his crossbow held up.

"We're not _assassins_." Gunslinger sounded slightly annoyed at the word, giving his partner a glance before continuing. "We're...detectives for hire."

Spiderman stretched his head to the side of Gwen's, surprised. "Wait- '_detectives for hire_'?! _What?_ What are detectives doing with _crossbows_?!"

"Let's just say we handle extreme cases. Like _yours_." With that, Marksman pulled out a specialised arrow, and fired it at his head. Peter quickly moved his head to the other side, expecting the arrow to peacefully fly straight past him. Instead, the blunt ended end opened up, firing shards of shrapnel at Peter and Gwen. In response, Spiderman quickly pushed Gwen out of harms way, before pulling himself up onto the roof with a web string. Annoyed, Marksman pulled out an array of arrows, firing each one at the red and blue hero crawling towards them. Each one landed a second away from Peter's body, and exploded after three seconds each. Avoiding the metal debris flying around, Spiderman nimbly dropped down and crouched between the two men. As Gunslinger went to deliver a punch with his right arm, Spidey quickly fired nets of webs at him, freezing him in place. Marks man's kick was only avoided when he back-flipped away, before firing a web string at his weapon and tugging it away. Before he could react, a cascade of webs constricted his every limb apart from his mouth.

Once he was secure, Spiderman rose up to head height and started to slowly walk forwards. "So why is someone investigating _me_?"

"Maybe 'cause of the spider powers, _smartarse_." he replied sarcastically.

"I wouldn't say you're in a position to make remarks like that. I feel more incline now to _leave_ you here until my webbing disintegrates. So, see you in 5 hours?" He then cheekily smiled under his mask, before pulling Gwen towards him with a web string and swinging towards the nearest exit.

Peter landed on the apartment roof of the Stacy's home, but instead of letting her go he gripped her tighter. The long hug, even though she enjoyed it, freaked Gwen out. "Peter...what happened?" Her voice was shaky and scared, which he responded to calmly.

He slowly peeled his mask off. "Please, whatever you do, don't freak out. OK?" She nodded eagerly. "11 months ago, after we had stopped Electro from draining the electricity, Harry Osbourne arrived. He had tried to cure himself with the spider venom, and used Oscorp technology to become The Green Goblin. I... I _tried_ to both fight him and stop you from falling but...it wasn't enough. I'm sorry." His head started to droop to the floor as he tried not to watch Gwen's shocked expression. "I'm so sorry." He unsuccessfully held back his tears. "You didn't make it."

Gwen restarted the embrace again, for she couldn't bare to see Peter like this. He could smell the sweet sent of roses she always exerted, and could sense her red lips slowly reaching for his. He pulled away quickly. "I'm sorry," he stuttered, "i-it's just that, however much I'll love you, I'm...seeing someone."

Gwen too pulled away, slightly shocked. "Oh. Of course, sorry." She then attempted to reassure him that she was happy for him. Smiling widely, she asked "So who is she? What's she like? Oh wait, is it MJ?"

"Why'd you say that?"

"It's just I'd always thought that, if it weren't...me and you, it should've been you and her." They both started to giggle quietly, before she realised something. "Wait, if my family think I'm dead, where should I stay?"

"You can't stay at mine- May'll go _ballistic_ of she sees you alive again." He suddenly had an idea- one he would regret. "There is only one person who'd even consider housing a dead person."

**Sorry 'bout the large gap- I've had important stuff going on that couldn't wait. So, what do you think will happen next? Y'all know what to do :)**

**Also, thanks to my good friend Adam for the creation of Marksman and Gunslinger. Nice ideas man!**


	30. Chapter 30: Awkward Situation

**Chapter 30: Awkward Situation**

Mr Fiers stood over Norman's LMD, examining how damaged it was. His long brown coat and hat hid him in the shadows. "It's such a _waste_ of wires."

He removed his hat, revealing his dark brown tuff of hair and his wrinkled face and disappointed look. He turned his attention towards the two detectives webbed in place. Fitz's eyes widened at the sight- "Norman Osbourne?! But that's-"

"'Impossible'? I know it is, Fitz." His calm tone scared both men, particularly as he also walked slowly to them. "Speaking of impossible things...what are _you_ doing back at Oscorp?"

"Relax, I'm not here for you _or_ this company." he replied coldly, "I'm here on business."

Norman's eyes widened in shock. "Really? I thought you were just hunting a spider." He started to chuckle quietly, before becoming much more serious. "If you want to complete your _job_, you'll need to work alongside me. And if you _don't_..." He quickly pulled out a knife, holding it to Fitz's neck, making a slight incision. "Agreed?" Fitz slowly nodded, ashamed to have ever crawled back to his arms. Norman started using the knife to free the men from the webbing, allowing them to move freely. "Gentlemen, we're gonna have some fun."

Peter landed behind his garden shed, releasing Gwen in the process. He looked around to see if Aunt May would find them in their hiding place. She wasn't in- a relief. He quickly turned to Gwen. "If you stay here for a bit, I'll see if you can stay here. OK?"

She quickly added in "Are you _sure_ she'll be alright with this?"

"As long as I can explain everything to her, I don't see any problems surfacing." With that, he fired a web string to the house next door, and started to climb up towards he open window. As he did, Gwen turned away, losing her smile to an almost horrified face. A small tear rode down her cheek at the thought of Peter and someone else.

Lucy's attention moved from her wall of facts and figures on the Osbourne family to her TV, as WWN started to report on a unique Spiderman sighting: _Witnesses say that, after the man fired at the hero, he suddenly disappeared for at least twenty seconds- literally, turned invisible. Now, all sorts of questions are flying about, concerning whether this a new ability or if someone else is doing this. Many people are blaming Oscorp Industries, both because of the latest villains such as The Vulture and Doctor Octopus, and also because no fewer than 5 minutes later he swung into Oscorp Tower. The main question now is who can we trust._

She turned the TV off when she sensed Peter had arrived outside, hurrying to the open window to see if he was hurt. She sighed in relief when she saw the almost pristine spandex suit. He climbed in quickly before peeling off his mask, revealing half of a smile, and half of a worried expression. "Hi."

"Hey Pete. I see you've taken it easy today." Her smile reached out to the edges of her face. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For keeping yourself safe for at least _one_ night." She squeezed him tightly, leaning on his muscular body. Peter started to regret his decision to house Gwen here- _What if it affects us? Our relationship? She'll understand won't she? I can't just leave someone I know to fend for themselves on the streets, homeless and without money._

"_Listen_..." He let out a long breath, not knowing where to start.

"Peter? What is it?" Her concern at how worried he was evident.

"What I'm about to say...you may not like it. But I need your help."

"Tell me what's wrong. I'll help." He was still contemplating keeping it a secret from her, and she knew this. "You've helped me enough times. Now I'll help you."

"It's Gwen. She's..._alive_."

Lucy stumbled back, speechless. She had no idea whether she should congratulate or scold or worry. She immediately blubbered out the first thought in her mind. "Are you two...gonna..." She held back as much emotion as she could when she considered the thought.

"_NO!_ No, absolutely not." He reached out to her for reassurance, pulling her still body into an embrace. "Nothing like that is gonna happen, I promise." He kissed her gently on her head before continuing. "We'll just be friends." He guided her so that they were face to face. "The only problem of her...resurrection is that everyone thinks she's dead, and so she can't stay anywhere."

"Is this going where I _think_ it's going?" She started to smirk slightly.

"Most probably. You're the only person who would believe her story and _also_ have family that doesn't know her."

"What about _you_?"

"If my Aunt May walks in and sees her, she'll go mad. She'll start believing in all sorts of Arcadia, which'll drive me _nuts_."

After a short pause, she began the conversation again. "What about Mum? How am I gonna convince her to house _another_ person?"

"I don't know..._lie_?" They both looked into each other's eyes, clueless as to what to say to one another. "Please can you do this for me?" She started to think of all of the possibilities of having her live there, trying to come up with an answer. Sensing she was not confident in deciding, Peter came up with a proposal. "Do you...wanna _meet_ her? Y'know, to help make a decision?"

She froze at the concept. _Meet Gwen Stacy? This will be awkward, but I guess it's inevitable. Even if I say no, she'll still be Peter's friend, and a I'll still meet her at some point._ "Okay. I'll meet her."

She was taken aback when Peter grabbed her into the air in utter joy, before kissing her on her strawberry lips. "_Thank you!_ I'll just get her." He beamed his smile at Lucy, who was still uneasy about the idea. "I promise you. Everything will be fine." He then jumped out of the window hurriedly, leaving Lucy to wonder whether she'd made the right decision.

Gwen waited patiently, worrying about what might have been said about her. I_s she going to let me stay? Will she hate me? Will it effect their relationship?_ There was a small part of her that wished it did, that wished she and Peter would get back together again. But she knew that it wouldn't be fair, that she had her chance and that it was this girl's chance now. She looked up to see the familiar bug eyes staring down upon her. "You ready to meet her?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." She smiled solemnly, which was detected by Peter.

"Hey. Everything'll be fine, I promise." He then grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up into the air using a web string.

Lucy started to pace the room, panicking slightly. _I'm actually about to meet Gwen Stacy. In the flesh. _She stopped in her tracks when she sensed both of them climbing up the wall into her room, Peter first, then a blond girl with a ragged turquoise coat and purple dress. The first thing she noticed about her was her beauty. In her life she's met pretty woman before, but nothing like her. Even though Peter reassured her she was his only girl, there was a part of her that worried that what the two used to have will resurface. All three were soon staring at one another, speechless. "_Well,_" Peter started to break the ice, "Lucy, Gwen. Gwen, Lucy."

He let out a nervous smile as both extended their arms out to one another. "It's so nice to meet you." Lucy nervously started.

"And you." They both shook each other's hand, before swiftly placing them back next to their bodies again. One word came into the mind of all three- _Awkward._


	31. Chapter 31: Roomies

**Chapter 31: Roomies**

"So, you're Peter's-"

"Girlfriend." Lucy quickly and defensively replied.

Peter's eyes widened slightly in shock at the sudden manner she had taken. "Sweetie, is everything okay?"

_He doesn't see my point of view Lucy thought. All he sees in her is a close friend, mainly 'cause he's going out with me. What he doesn't see yet is that she'll want to get back together sooner or later. I've got to make sure that she, however mean it seems, knows her place._ "I'm...fine. Just nervous, I guess." She smiled as best as she could, given the circumstances.

"Me too." Gwen inputted.

Lucy quickly turned her head. "Really? Why?"

"Well...life's moved on, and I'm stuck in the same place. It's nerve racking." The couple knew exactly what she meant- she came into this world expecting to be in England with Peter, and learnt the hard way that that wasn't the case. No one could really empathise with her, but Peter and Lucy made up for it with their sympathy. As Lucy started to open up more and more, Gwen started to learn the basic information about Lucy from the couple, from what her favourite colour was to how Suzanne is her adopted mother. She couldn't help but wonder how similar the two were. Their scientific capacity, their interests. Despite their love for one another they once had, they never had as much in common. She concealed her sadness on the matter well from Peter and Lucy. Her attention turned to the wall behind Lucy covered in pinned papers. "What's that?"

Both Peter and Lucy turned their heads, Lucy then quickly stepping towards it, covering it away from view. "Oh, um..." She turned to Peter for help as to what to say. He replied with a friendly nod, as if to say 'It's okay. You can tell her.' She hesitantly turned back to Gwen, who was eagerly oscillating her attention between the columns of writing on the wall and Lucy. "It's the info about my real family."

Gwen took a step towards it, reading the headlines intensively. "Norman Osbourne... Is he..." She turned her head to Lucy nodding. "But that means-"

"That Harry's- aka The _Green Goblin's_- my brother."

"Actually, I was thinking that, _technically_, you're the sole heir to Oscorp."

"Yeah, well, try telling _them_ that you're the long lost daughter of Norman Osbourne only a year after he died. They'll _defiantly_ believe you." All three started to laugh quietly, making sure not to wake up Oliver, Lucy talking again once they died down. "Listen, personally, I don't see any problems with you staying here." she lied. "I'll just need to persuade my mum." _Whilst she lives here, I can make sure nothing happens between her and Peter too. Plus, it might be nice to know a girl my age._

"Really?! You sure?"

"Why not?" Gwen instantly leaped up and hugged her, her super strength the only element keeping her from toppling in surprise.

"Thank you so much!" Lucy's grip on her winded her slightly. "Wow, you're quite strong." she stated, breathing in deeply.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: I got given superpowers by my brother." She smiled friendly. "Still doesn't persuade Peter that I can _help_ him though."

"Tell me about it." Gwen looked over to Peter, who was eagerly smiling, and rolled her eyes. I_ guess I'm gonna have to get used to being his friend only from now on, and also get used to Lucy coming first in his life._

The following day, Lucy persuaded Suzanne to house Gwen in her room, by a combination of a sad back story consisting of being made homeless and the many possible advantages of having an extra pair of hands around the house. Once given the green light, the pair of girls went clothes shopping for a completely new wardrobe for Gwen. Occasionally they would come across a billboards with the latest news headline 'Spiderman saves people from burning building' or 'The Webhead stops another crime in progress'. Both girls tutted when they saw just how reckless Peter was with himself when he donned the suit.

Both Lucy and Gwen found that they were very similar to one another. They both were intellectual in the sciences, they both had a similar sense of fashion. What Lucy did find was that Gwen did reach out to her to be her friend, whilst she remained fairly closed up and shy. After everything she had been through the past month, she didn't feel confident around new people. However, she knew that Gwen was a longtime friend of Peter's, so she tried to make an effort. Despite this, she didn't have to put in too much effort, considering Gwen's intrigue. "So, what's been happening in the world during the year I missed?"

"Well..." Lucy acted as the more formal of the two, a physical representation of her shyness, "...Robin Williams died."

"_WHAT_?! He died?!" She concealed her open mouth with her hand. "What happened?"

"He...um..."

Gwen realised what she was so hesitant to say. "Oh. Right." There was a short uncomfortable pause before the conversation began again. "What else?"

Octavius's four metallic limbs furiously worked at his computer, his face lighting up from the multiple screens showing CCTV footage of the city above him. With a single click of a button the screens turned black, and he turned around to face the other five members of his team. He raised his upper two mechanical arms, as if glorifying himself as he spoke. "Tonight, we emerge victorious. Tonight, we kill the _spider_!" With that signal, everyone began to charge out of the room, led by The Rhino, then Black Cat and Venom, and finally Electro and Mysterio. Once they had all disappeared, Octavius pulled out a small mobile phone from his pocket, using his own hands to use it. He shortly started to speak to the man on the other side. "Mr Fiers, everything is in place. The siege has begun."

Norman Osbourne, who had now changed out of his long brown coat and hat into another Green Goblin suit, menacingly chuckled and replied. "Good. Let's see if Parker can deal with a sinister party like yours. Make sure you kill him."

With that, Doctor Octopus hung up before charging out of the door.

Lucy and Gwen, despite the obvious tension between them, managed to keep their day out civil, mainly talking about what had happened in the days Gwen was dead. They both had also started to find out they had the same favourite music and films and food. They even had the same sense of humour. Lucy even managed to laugh slightly- a rarity for her since the fight at The Goblin Lair. They returned home with a shed load of shopping bags that filled up Lucy's room. They had started to move her new tops and T-shirts into the cupboard when Lucy's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, relieved to see a message from Peter:

_Hey I'll be there in 2 minutes see you soon xx_

"Who is it?"

Lucy turned around to see Gwen peeping over her shoulder. "Oh, it's Peter. He said he'll be here in a couple of minutes." She sensed Gwen's head droop slightly, her eyes continuously flickering to the space where he had sent her kisses. Both girls understood that the subject of Peter was a complicated one, but they had both set about a mutual agreement not to mention much about it. Gwen also said that she would try to just be his friend.

To clear the tension, Gwen turned on the TV, horrified at the sight of the news. "Lucy...have you seen this?" Soon they both were staring wide-eyed at the report:

_The streets of New York are in panic as not one, not two, but six supervillans- five of which have been identified- are charging down towards Times Square. We do not know what they want, or how they've grouped together. All anyone can do right now is plead for Spiderman to arrive._

KNOCK KNOCK

Both girls turned around quickly to see Peter, fully costumed, peeping through the window. "What's up?"

**Get ready for a Sinister Six showdown! Sorry I haven't updated as often as before, school's finally caught up with me. Would really appreciate some more favourites/followers to come up :)**

**Also, I know that many of you (Oscar particularly) wants Gwen and Peter to get back together again. I will tell you that this WILL happen!**


End file.
